Aishiteru
by Jaid Skywalker
Summary: *FINISHED!* Valentine's Day is coming soon in Domino City and romance is in the air! Or it should be...O.O Shadi/Isis, Seto/Serenity, Joey/Mai, Yugi/Tea, Duke/Tara, Tristan/Katya, Ryou/Rei Read and Review!!
1. Default Chapter

Jaid: Hi all! This is a V-day story; I hope everybody had a good one! 

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Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh doesn't belong to me. I own only Rei Yukimona. Iris Omega owns Tara Etsuko, and AmberLiz owns Katya Suzuki. Ankh and Scales belong to Indigo and co-star in her wonderful fic "Three in One Combo" which you should go read right after you read this. ^__~

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A/N: Scales and Ankh are the spirits of the Millennium Scales and Ankh (or Key; gosh this sentence sounds real dumb…). Although the main focus is on Shadi/Isis pairing, there are others in here. 

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"Valentine's Day." Isis said in response to Ankh's question about the bag of heart shaped candies. The three of them were having a short stay at her apartment, but only after she had assured Scales that Malik wasn't there and to tell the truth, she didn't know where he was. 

"What's Valentine's Day?" Ankh asked. 

"It's a celebration for lovers." Isis smiled. "You give your lover a special card, candy, a nice gift, that sort of thing. Anything in white, red, or pink will do. It's also known as Singles Awareness day." 

Ankh gave her a confused look. She took the candies from him and put them in a cupboard. 

"If you don't have a lover, you are single and on Valentine's Day, you are very aware of it." She explained. Comprehension came into the Spirit's face. 

"I see." 

"Fascinating." Shadi said in a dead pan tone and Isis glanced at him, not sure if he was being sarcastic or not. Scales merely grunted and muttered something under his breath. 

"Well, I have to head to the museum." She said. "You guys can make yourselves at home. I'll be back this afternoon." 

Shadi and Ankh called out good byes (Scales shouted "good riddance") as Isis left the apartment. Once the door was closed, the smile faded. As cool and detached as she was, she rather disliked Valentine's Day. It was just a reminder of things she had missed and what she was likely to miss the rest of her life. 

'When did you start being so pessimistic?' the goddess Isis demanded from inside her soul room. 

'When I became realistic.' Isis answered. The girl could feel the goddess shaking her head. 

'That is not realistic, my name-sake.' She said. 'That is being depressing.' 

Isis ignored the comment and shook herself as she realized she was walking down the sidewalk. Stepping up her pace, she paused as she saw a tiny figure seated on a bench, head bent over something. Walking over, Isis gently prodded the slender shoulder. Yugi Mouto jumped and looked up at her. 

"Isis!" he exclaimed and stood. 

"Hello. What is that you have, little Yugi?" she said softly. The boy turned red and showed her a Valentine that was obviously homemade. 

"It's very pretty. Who's it for?" Isis asked, smiling. Yugi turned even redder (if that were possible) and murmured something about a girl. Isis' smile deepened. 

"That's sweet. But you don't know how to give it to her, am I correct?" she said. Yugi shook his head. 

"Yami says that I should just march up to Te…uh, to her and hand it to the girl. But…well, I'm not as brave as he is." 

"Why don't you just leave it on her desk?" Isis suggested. Yugi looked up sheepishly. 

"I was going to do that. Well, until…" 

"Until what?" 

"Until Joey and Tristan found out about it. I'm afraid they'll tease or ruin it." Yugi admitted. He looked up at her. "Could you give to her for me? Please?" 

Isis looked into his innocent purple eyes and found herself saying yes. Yugi beamed, gave her a friendly hug and a thank you, then left her standing there, with the Valentine card/poem in her hand. Isis smiled after him, but there was a hollow feeling in her heart. For a few minutes, Yugi had treated her as an older sister. Malik hadn't done that for years. She'd almost forgotten the power of innocent violet eyes. 

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"Ah, this sucks." Joey scowled at the desk top. 

"What does?" Duke Devlin asked, peering over Tristan and Ryou's shoulders. They were standing around Joey as he stared at a blank red heart cut out of paper. 

"He's having girl trouble." Ryou explained in a hushed voice. 

"Not that it isn't normal or anything." Tristan added jokingly. Joey kicked him in the shin for that comment and Tristan yelped. Duke rolled his green eyes. 

"Why don't you just get her some flowers and a nice card. Most of the girls around here would melt at that." He said. Joey looked up. 

"She ain't from this school." He sighed heavily. 

Duke looked around cluelessly. "You're dating a girl from another school?" 

"No! She don't go to high school." 

"A college girl?" Duke smiled. "Well, well, Joey, who could've known-" 

"No, she's a duelist!" Joey practically shouted. The other students turned and glanced at him. He blushed and sank into his seat. 

"A female duelist who isn't in high school. Well, that certainly narrows it down." Duke counted on his fingers. "That would be Mai Valentine, Rebecca Hawkins, Sandy Marshall and Shan Le Bai. I don't think its Hawkins, unless you're some kind of sicko-" 

Joey shot him a dark glare. 

"And I don't think its Marshall, since she exclusively duels in Europe and the U.S.A. So, it's either our lovely blonde or the Chinese champion." Duke mused. 

"It's the blonde." Tristan deadpanned. Joey transferred his glare to his friend. 

"Ah!" Duke held up a finger. "So that's why you're so depressed! You picked an expensive woman, Wheeler." 

"Don't I know it." Joey moaned. 

"Hey, don't sweat it." Duke grinned. "You've got the Duke helping you out now." 

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Serenity sighed. It was awful boring, sitting in a bed all day and not being able to do anything. She couldn't use a computer, couldn't watch TV, and couldn't read. She could listen to music but that was just getting to be plain boring. 

She sighed again. She ought to be grateful. After all, this bandage would come off soon and then she would be able to see again, without the threat of becoming blind. That cheered her up a little. 

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Seto checked his watch, then semi-glared at his little brother. 

"It'll be good for you!" the eight year old protested. "You're always so cooped up!" 

"Reading for an invalid wasn't what I had in mind." Seto grunted. 

"Come on! I've already met her. You'll like her, please?" Mokuba turned his big blue eyes on Seto and the older boy sighed. 

"We'll go." He said in defeat. Mokuba grinned and hugged his brother. Against his better judgment, Seto smiled. He never could resist the puppy dog face. 

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It was a few days later, when Shadi and Isis were walking through the open-air market. While Isis was buying some bread, Shadi wandered over to a few carts that had crafts on them. One had nice Valentine cards. Out of curiosity, Shadi picked one up. He didn't understand the writing, but he liked the card. It was pretty, in an understated, elegant sort of way. Isis probably would have liked it – a jolt went through Shadi as he realized what he was thinking and for a moment felt grateful that Ankh and Scales were in their physical forms back at home. 

"It's a day to celebrate lovers." Isis' words rang through his head again and Shadi turned to watch her for a moment. She was smiling as she paid the cashier for the few loaves she had bought and placed them in her basket. The cool air had caused her cheeks to redden slightly and her eyes were bright as the cashier said something and they both laughed. 

"Something for a sweetheart?" 

Shadi jumped and turned, as the keeper of the cart approached. She was a middle-aged woman with a pretty smile. 

Shadi slightly blushed as he realized he was still holding the card. "No." he said slowly in Japanese. "I am not buying." He put the card on the cart. The woman nodded. 

"Shadi!" Isis called, walking over. "I think we've left those two at home long enough. We should get back. I just have to get some fish and we're going home, okay?" 

Shadi just nodded, suddenly too embarrassed to do anything, hoping against hope that she hadn't noticed all the romantic cards in the background. Isis didn't seem too, however, as she turned and headed for the fish stall. Shadi sighed in relief and felt startled as the woman keeper of the cart put the elegant card in his hands. 

"Free of charge." She smiled. "That girl looks special." 

Slightly flustered, Shadi gave her his thanks, blushing furiously. Tucking the card into his sleeve, he felt a little annoyed that his emotions had suddenly gotten out of control. 

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Seto exited the limo and sighed mentally, wondering how Mokuba had gotten him into this. He must be getting soft…walking up to the elevator, he glanced at the room number again. 

A few minutes later saw him walking down the hallway and entering the room. There, Seto Kaiba stopped short in slight shock. 

To be truthful, he had not been expecting a slender redhead who was obviously about his age, if not a few years younger. A bandage covered the upper half of her face, as she turned her head towards the door. 

"Hello?" she had a soft voice. "Who's there?" 

"My name is Seto. I'm, uh, I'm supposed to read to you." 

"Really?" The girl seemed to go on like a light. "Oh, that would be so wonderful. I've been here for over a week and I haven't been able to do anything, because I can't see!" 

"Uh, right." Seto felt slightly overwhelmed at the girl's cheerful outburst. He pulled up a chair and looked at the book Mokuba had given him to read. "Ever read the Hobbit?" 

"Not for years." The girl said. "Are you reading it too me?" 

"Yes." 

A beautiful smile came onto her face and Seto couldn't help but wonder if her eyes would sparkle when she did that. 

"Thank you so much…Oh, wait. You said you were supposed to do this for me. I'm not taking up your time, I mean…" the girl floundered. 

"It's all right." Seto said, somewhat sharper than he meant to. At his answer, the girl brightened again. Seto leaned back and opened the book. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad…

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Yugi knocked on the door, and looked around. It was still snowy, but it was a beautiful Saturday morning. 

The door was opened by a tall, slender man, with kindly green eyes and pale green hair. "Hello?" he said in thickly accented Japanese. 

"Hi." Yugi wondered uncomfortably if he had gotten the wrong apartment. "I'm looking for Isis." 

The man smiled. "She's not here, but you can come in and wait. She should be back in a few moments." 

"Okay." Yugi agreed and stepped inside. Suddenly, in the kitchen, there was something that sounded like a blender being pressed on, a heavy thump and then a long string of curses. The green-haired man's eyes went big and he ran for the kitchen. Yugi stood in the doorway, not quite sure of what to do. 

A few minutes later, another man came from the kitchen, looking angry and annoyed. He glared hard at Yugi and muttered something under his breath, then went through to another room, slamming the door. Yugi blinked, and was about to take off his boots, when the door opened, slamming full force into him and knocking him to the ground. (A/N: This happens all the time in our house…) Isis' head appeared from around it. 

"Yugi!" she exclaimed. "Are you okay?" 

"Yeah, I'm fine." Yugi gave a sheepish smile and stood up and moved out of the way as Isis and Shadi came in. 

"Sorry about that." The Egyptian girl said, dumping groceries on the table. "Hey, what happened?" 

The green haired man looked up from the floor he was cleaning. "I think Scales was experimenting with the blender." He explained. Shadi shook his head and Isis sighed. 

"Well, thanks for cleaning it up, Ankh." She said. Ankh smiled in reply. Isis turned to Yugi. 

"Was there something you needed?" she asked. The pointy-haired boy nodded. 

"I kinda forgot to tell you who the card was for." He admitted softly. Isis smiled at him and held out her hand. 

"Come on, we'll talk back here." She said. 

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"Hello?" Joey answered the phone, tossing a hacky-sack in his hand. 

"Hey, Joey. It's Duke." The other person said. "Mind coming to the shop for a bit?" 

"Nah, why?" 

"I thought you wanted help for Valentine's day." 

"Oh yeah." Joey blinked. "Okay, be there in a few!" 

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Duke hung up the phone. "He's coming." 

The girl perched on the counter looked up from her palm pilot. "Great!" she said, jumping down. 

Tara Etsuko was an attractive girl of fifteen. A little shorter than Duke, she had deep green eyes and long, light blonde hair that was currently in two, low ponytails. One had a hot pink scrunchie and the other a yellow one. The scrunchies matched the sunny yellow long sleeved T and the hot pink spaghetti strap tank she wore. 

Shutting off the palm pilot, she stuffed it into the pocket of her black stretch flares and walked up to Duke. 

"So," she said casually, loosely hooking her arms around his neck. "We doing anything special on Saturday after the dance?" 

Duke smiled as he put his hands on her waist and touched her forehead with his own. "Could you doubt it?" 

Tara smiled back up at him and they were about to kiss when there was the sound of a throat being cleared. 

"Oh, hi Rei." Tara said. The dark-haired girl at the counter smiled wryly as she dropped a Duel Monster's Dice board on the counter. 

"Didn't think you two would be making out until after shop is closed." She commented wryly. "You've still got twenty minutes." 

Duke rolled his eyes as he rang up the game. Tara grinned at her friend. Rei Yukimona was her classmate. Unlike the tall, slender, blonde Tara, Rei was average height and had a strong, sturdy frame. Her long black hair was pulled back in a high ponytail and her dark brown eyes were heightened with purple eyeshadow. She wore a black sweater top, dark blue hip hugger flares and silver hoops. Over all this, she wore a long black trenchcoat.

"Hey, Valentine's day is coming up." Tara said. 

"Yes. Singles Awareness Day." Rei commented, paying for the game. 

"Ahh, you wouldn't think that if you had someone to spend it with." Tara said in a singsong voice. Rei gave her a blank look. 

"Have you been at the coffee again?" she asked pointedly. 

"Maybe." Tara grinned, too hyped up on caffeine and sugar to be offended. Rei raised an eyebrow at Duke. 

"You've got your hands full tonight." She commented wryly, took the bag with her game and headed for the door. On the way, she nearly got run over by a tall, skinny blonde. 

"Oh, sorry." Joey hastily picked Rei's merchandise off of the floor. Rei gave him a slightly annoyed look and exited. 

"Hi Duke, Hi Tara." Joey said easily. Tara was one of the better known girls in school, mostly because of her position on the cheerleading team. She was also pretty popular in her own right, but not a 'groupie' or even remotely snobbish. 

"Hey, Joey." Duke answered. "Let me close up real quick and I'll tell you what we came up with." 

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"Okay, you can do that, hon and I'll get the baking sheets." Yugi's mom, Akiko, handed him the bowl of cookie dough and proceeded to grease a baking sheet. Although Akiko was usually working, she did get an occasional time to be home with her son. Right now they were making cookies, just for the fun of it. 

The phone rang and they heard Grandpa answering it. A few minutes later, Yugi was called for. Putting the bowl down, Yugi picked up the phone. "Hello?" 

"Hi." It was Tea. 

"Oh hi." Yugi said. "What's up?" 

"Nothing much." Tea sounded hesitant. "I was just wondering what you were, uh, doing this weekend, that's all." 

"The same thing I do every weekend I guess." Yugi answered slowly. 

/What kind of an answer was that?/ Yami asked, sounding amused. 

\What was I supposed to say?\ Yugi demanded. 

/Something a little less ambiguous./ 

Yugi sighed mentally. 

"Yugi, you there?" Tea's voice brought him back to reality. 

"Yeah, sorry." 

"Okay." Tea said. "I just wanted to know, if you, uh…" 

"Yeah?"

Tea blew out a sigh. "Nothing. Sorry I called. I'll see you Monday at school. Bye." Then she hung up. Yugi looked at the phone for a few moments before replacing it on the receiver. 

/You should have asked her out for that…whatever festival thing it is./ 

\Valentine's Day.\

/Yes, that./ 

Yugi shook his head. \What if she said no?\

/Are you really this naïve?/ Yami deadpanned. 

\…No…?\

Yami sighed. /Never mind./ He figured that the two of them would have to work it out on their own. 

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Jaid: *sighs* Okay Indigo! I told you I'd take a shot at Shadi/Isis and here it is. Don't worry ppl, it does get better. I just love messing with character's heads, *evil laugh* 

Jad and Naga: *sweatdrop* 

Jaid: Review plz!!! 


	2. Monday

Jaid: I'm back! Wow, people like it! I'm so happy. Here's chapter two for you guys. 

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It was Monday morning at school. Tara walked through the halls, a meditative look on her slender face. She had been thinking about Rei. Rei was her best friend, co-captain of the track team and also a member of NBSBC – No Boyfriend Since Birth Club. Tara bit her lip. There had to be a way to get Rei to go out with somebody. 

Duke had promised to look at available guys in his classroom, since she had vetoed most of the ones in hers. Only a chosen few were left and Tara didn't know if she could get her friend to even look at them. 

"Babe!" 

Duke's voice from behind her caused Tara to stop and turn around. Duke was walking towards her, behind him was a slender, white-haired boy with large dark eyes. 

"This is Ryou Bakura." Duke said smiling. "Ryou, this is my girlfriend, Tara." Ryou smiled nervously. 

"Hello." 

Tara smiled back. "Hi." She looked at Duke, slight confusion in her eyes. 

"He's single. No date for the Valentine's Dance." Duke explained smiling. Ryou did a double take and suddenly looked like a cornered animal. 

"Really?" Tara looked at Ryou's face and smiled. "Hey, come on. You don't have to look freaked out. Girls aren't that bad." 

"Oh, no I suppose not." A nervous smile flitted across the British boy's face. "It's just that, well, I don't do well with girlfriends-"

"You probably just haven't found the right one." She smiled. Further conversation was prevented as the bell rang. 

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"Rei!" Tara called to her friend at the track that afternoon. She shivered, feeling a little sorry for the runners in their sweatsuits. Rei jogged over, her hair in a braid. 

"What?" 

"I may have got you a date for the dance." 

"Tara…" 

"No, just listen, okay? He's real nice." 

"That's what you said about the last one." Rei pointed out. 

"I'm serious this time. He's over there, with Duke." Tara pointed across the field. Rei turned, looked and then turned back to Tara. 

"He's cute right?" Tara asked. 

"Yeah. Too bad I won't be going with him." Rei said stubbornly. 

"Come on! You have to have a date if you're coming with Duke and me. It'll be more fun." 

"Then I'll get my brother to come down for the weekend." Rei said. 

"That's not a date. This dance is for couples; not for siblings." Tara pointed out. 

"Then I just won't go!" 

"Uh-uh! I am not letting that happen! You barely get out as it is!" 

"So? What if I like it that way?" 

"I'm just worried-"

"About my personal affairs? Give me a break Tara. You hate having people poke and prod in to your private stuff, but when it comes to me, you don't have any scruples! Just back off, all right? I'll go to the dance if I want too. And I'll get a date if I want too. I don't need your help in that area; I can get guys on my own despite what you might believe. I don't need charity." 

"Rei, I-" 

"Forget it." The dark-haired girl turned away and stormed off. Tara stood there, blinking back tears. 

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/Ask her./ Yami whispered, as Yugi was walking home from school. Joey was teasing Tristan about a crush he had and Tea was alternatively laughing and scolding when they got too rough. 

\Would you stop that?\ Yugi asked. 

/Not till you ask her./ 

\I can't. I gave the valentine to Isis.\

/What?!/

\She said she would give it to Tea.\

There was a silence. 

/I hate to say this, but you're hopeless./ 

\Thanks Yami.\ Yugi thought wryly. 

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Shadi sat in the guestroom Isis had provided, looking at the card. He probably shouldn't be, but as Ankh and Scales were in their soul rooms, he wasn't too worried. 

//What's that?// Ankh's voice filtered through his head. 

\\ Looks like one of those stupid Valerie cards.\\ Scales said scornfully.

//It's Valentine.// Ankh corrected.

Scales snorted. \\ Whatever\\ 

Shadi sighed mentally. /\The two of you stop./\

//Where'd you get it?// Ankh asked. 

Shadi hesitated before answering. /\The market./\

//Oh. Is it for Isis?// Ankh asked candidly. 

/\What makes you say that?/\ Shadi asked slowly. 

//Well, she is the only girl you-we-know, so I just assumed…// Ankh paused. //Isis told me you could give Valentine's to friends too. It's not for me or Scales is it?//

Scales was heard making a gagging noise. Shadi smiled. 

/\No, it's not./\ 

\\ Thank Ra. \\ Scales muttered. 

//And it's not for Pegasus, right?// 

/\No. It's not for anybody, Ankh./\ 

//Then why did you get it?// 

/\It was given to me./\

//Oh.// Ankh seemed to think about this. //Did Isis give it too you?//

\\ What is with you?\\ Scales demanded. 

//I just wanted to know. I like Isis. She's nice.//

\\ Feh. You're such a pushover.\\

//I am not! You could like her too if you would let yourself.// 

\\ Me? I don't think so. I am above such petty feelings.// Scales said.

/\Oh really?/\ Shadi grinned, glad to be out of the spotlight. /\I could name a few times-/\

\\ Shut up, fool!\\ Scales shouted. \\ Nobody asked you anyways!\\ 

Ankh giggled. //Somebody's nervous.// he sang.

\\ Shut up!\\ Scales ordered, but Ankh just kept giggling. Scales growled and marched to his soul room, slamming the door. 

//I think I made him mad.// Ankh said. //So…//

/\Yes?/\

//You never answered my question.// 

/\The cart owner gave it to me after she saw me admiring it. That is all./\

//Oh. That was nice of her.// Ankh stated. 

/\Yes/\

There was a pause. 

//But you're not giving it to Isis?//

/\No Ankh/\

//Oh.//

/\Why are you so persistant?/\

//Well…she's seemed so sad lately. I wanted to do something to cheer her up. She seemed happier after Yugi came over, but then seemed even sadder after he left. I think she misses her brother.//

\\ One could wonder why.\\ Scales cut in. 

/\Nice to have you back with us./\ Shadi said. Scales growled in response. 

"Shadi! Guys! Dinner's ready, if you're hungry!" Isis called from the kitchen. 

/\I suppose that means we should go eat./\ Shadi stood and put the card in a drawer. /\And I expect you both to behave./\

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"What about this one?" Tristan held up another piece of jewelry. Tea glanced at it. 

"It's nice. But it would be a lot more help if you told me who it was for." She pointed out. 

Tristan blushed. "It's for that girl, Katya, you know, the one on the yearbook staff? We've gone out for a little while, and, I think she may be, you know, the one." 

"Really? That's great Tristan!" Tea exclaimed, then stopped. "Which girl on the yearbook staff?" 

"Katya Suzuki. She's in the drama club too." 

"Uh, huh." Tea frowned. "I don't think I know her." 

"Yes you do!" Tristan said. "She's the short girl with curly black hair and sparkly gray eyes." 

"Sparkly?" Tea asked. "Is that even a word?" 

Tristan couldn't think of a come back so he stuck his tongue out at the redhead. Tea rolled her eyes. "Do you even know if she likes jewelry?" 

"I see her wearing a lot of it…I'm going to ask her out to the dance on Saturday, so.." 

"Well, good for you. Hmm, lemme see." Tea looked back at the jewelry rack. "What kind of jewelry does she wear?" 

"Uh." Tristan scratched his head. "Lots of silver…I dunno." 

"Okay." Tea muttered. "That helps." 

"You're crabby today." Tristan pointed out. 

Tea ignored him, so Tristan went back to looking through jewlery. 

"Here, what about this one?" he said a few minutes later. It was a delicate gold chain with a small enamel pendant that was ivory colored. On it was a pretty painting of flowers and a butterfly. 

"Ooh, yeah, that's pretty." Tea said. "Get her that one." 

"Okay." Tristan grinned. Tea smiled at him, but it faded slightly after he went up to the register. With Joey so excited about spending Valentine's Day with Mai and Tristan with his new girlfriend, she felt a little left out. 

'Wish I could figure out how to ask Yugi about the dance.' She thought. 'Maybe I should just outright ask him. Couldn't hurt…'

"Ready to go? I'll drop you off at home." Tristan's voice interrupted her thoughts. 

"Hm? Oh, okay, thanks." 

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"I got it!" Tara called as the doorbell rang. She opened the front door and Rei stood there. 

"Hi, Tara." The girl said softly. 

"Hi." 

"Can I come in?" Rie asked. Tara nodded and moved aside. Rie came in and Tara closed the door behind her. 

"Look, I just came to apologize for what I said before. It really wasn't you; I was having a pretty tough day and I took it out on you and I'm really sorry. I know that you just want me to have some fun and not work all the time. It's just not easy for me, that's all." Rei gave one of her rare, blossoming smiles. "Accept my apology?" 

"Of course!" Tara said, giving her a hug. "How could I not?" 

"Thanks." Rei said as they pulled apart. 

"Great." Tara grinned. "Now we can introduce you to Ryou!" 

"Tara…" Rei moaned.

"It's just for a dance, not for life, Rei." Tara reminded her. Rei rolled her dark eyes. 

"Fine. If he asks me, I'll go." She said. 

"Great." Tara's grin grew bigger. 

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"Hi." Seto said as he slipped into a chair. Serenity smiled at him. 

"Hi back." 

"Sorry about not coming yesterday." He said, opening the book. "I had work." 

"That's okay." She said. Seto began to read. He hadn't told her his last name, not sure how she would react if she knew that the Seto Kaiba was her reader. To her, he could be just any kid from out of a high school and that didn't bother him too much. 

She had told him her name was Serenity, that was all. Serenity. It fit her perfectly. 

After a few hours (some spent more in conversation than in reading), Seto stopped. It was getting late. 

"I have to go. My brother needs to be picked up from his friend's house." He explained. 

"You have a brother?" Serenity asked. "I do too! His name is Joey." 

"Joey?" Seto asked. 

"Yeah, maybe you know him." She continued happily. "He came in second at Duelist Kingdom." 

"Your last name is Wheeler?" Seto asked. 

"Yeah…" Serenity answered meekly, the smile fading. "Why?"

"No reason. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" 

"Okay. Bye." 

Seto didn't answer as he left. He hadn't know that Joey had a sister. 'Well, I guess it's safe to say who inherited the looks and brains.' He thought wryly. 

Serenity was thoughtful after Seto had left. The way his voice sounded suggested that he didn't like her brother very much. She sighed a little. 'But he likes me…I think.' She bit her lip. She didn't even know Seto; she'd only met him two days ago. Shrugging it off, Serenity blindly groped for her headphones. Joey had bought her a new CD yesterday. 

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The room was silent. Mom was downstairs watching the news with Grandpa and Yugi was doing some art homework he was behind on. Carefully cutting a piece of paper in half, he didn't notice Yami coming out of the puzzle and leaning against the wall. 

"You should ask her." 

Yugi jumped and turned to look at his soul-partner. "Yami, I don't even know how to dance." 

"She doesn't care." 

Yugi shook his head. "It isn't that simple!" he turned back to his work. "We've been friends since first grade. We know each other real well, and…" he struggled for a minute. "I just don't want to say or do something that could ruin it. I'd rather just be her friend, rather than risk scaring her away if I tell her…" 

"How you feel?" Yami finished. Yugi nodded. Yami frowned for a moment. He didn't have many memories and the ones he had were blurred and in pieces. But he still felt as if he knew what Yugi might be saying. 

"Sometimes," he said after a few moments. "You just have to take a risk. You ought to know that by now." 

With that comment, Yami disappeared back in the Puzzle. Yugi sat for a little while, thinking about what the spirit had said. 

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Jaid: It gets better, it gets better. Right now I'm just setting things up. ^__^ Isn't Ankh cute in this chapter? He's such a sweetie. 

Indigo – Glad you like! *dances around happily while her muses seriously wonder about her sanity* Hee, hee, I loved doing Shadi/Isis. They're such an interesting couple. Just wait until you see what else happens. 

Fire Pendant – Isn't it tho? I dunno why I choose the Hobbit. *shrugs* Um, I wish that could happen, but it just wouldn't fit into the story and if I did do that, then it would have to be OC's and there are more than enough in this story. Besides, I like the spirits where they are; irritating Shadi. ^__~

Luckyladybug – You reviewed! *dances around again* Glad you liked it! Hmm, I'm not really a Tea/Seto person myself; I always wonder about Yugi. Though it would be kinda cute to write a story where he and Mokuba try to set them up – erk! No! I have enough projects all ready! *sigh* Darn my over imaginative brain…oh yeah the pic! Yup! I'm thinking of trying some watercolors on it…we'll see. Can't wait till it's done and I can show you! ^__^


	3. Tuesday

Jaid: Hi guys! Ooooh, I got so many nice reviews! 

Jad: And this is good why?

Jaid: *in a dangerous tone* What is that supposed to mean?

Jad: *gulp*

Naga: He means is that when you get good reviews, you get hyper and full of yourself.

Jaid: . I don't even know why I keep you two around…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

The school was buzzing about the dance and posters were up all over announcing it. 

"Ryou just got here, where's Rei?" Duke asked, as they stood in the front hallway of the school. 

"I think she's inside. There was a meeting for the school reporters." Tara said, then began humming "Matchmaker." Duke looked at her, then rolled his eyes. 

"Oh, come on! You know it's fun." Tara teased. Duke didn't answer, but he did smile. 

"Hi Tara!" Tea waved to her friend as she passed by. Tara waved back. 

"Oooh, that reminds me; I have to ask Tea if she's got a date and wants to come with us too." 

"Are you inviting the whole cheerleading squad?" Duke asked, somewhat alarmed. 

"No, just Tea." Tara told him. "Hi Ryou!" 

The white haired boy smiled shyly. "Hello." 

Tara beckoned him over. 

"I want you to meet somebody, okay?" she said. Ryou nodded a little hesitantly, as if he knew what was coming. 

"Hey Tara, hi Duke." Rei said from behind them. They turned. Rei stood there, books in one arm, while the other tugged uncomfortably on her short school skirt. "Why'd they have to make these damn things so short? It's winter for crying out loud-Oh…" she trailed off when she saw Ryou. 

"Ryou, this is my friend Rei Yukimona. Rei, this is Ryou Bakura." Tara said quickly. Rei held out a hand, while Tara and Duke discreetly back-pedaled. 

"Nice to meet you." She said in a polite, somewhat distant voice. 

"Likewise." Ryou said and smiled sweetly. 

"Aww," Tara murmured to Duke. "How could she resist a smile like that?" 

"Easily is my guess." He muttered back. Tara punched him in the arm. 

"They're talking. Yes! Rei's talking to a guy." Tara said happily, doing a little dance. Duke rolled his eyes. 

"Maybe I shouldn't have bought you that mocha." He said. Tara stuck her tongue out at him and he grinned. 

The bell rang. The students left in the hall began scrambling to their rooms. 

"Bye!" Ryou called to Rei as he left. Rei smiled and waved back. 

"So?" Tara asked, linking arms with her friend as they headed to their room. 

"He's nice." 

"What'd you talk about?" 

"Duel Monsters." Rei answered calmly. "We were comparing our decks." 

"From memory?" 

"Uh-huh. To be a good duelist, you have to know every card in your deck and what it does." 

Tara sweatdropped. "You guys are way too obsessed." 

"Says the coffee-addict." 

"Hey! Coffee is different!" Tara protested as they entered the room. Rei rolled her eyes. 

"Right." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

\\ I'm cold!\\ Scales shouted. 

/\You're not even outside. Stop complaining./\ Shadi calmly reprimanded as he wrapped his robes tighter around himself (A/N: I just couldn't see Shadi in 'normal' clothes…can you?) 

//The snow's pretty.// Ankh commented. //Could we come out for a little?//

\\ No! We don't want to do that!\\ Scales protested. \\ Snow is wet! It'll get us all dirty and muddy…\\ Shadi could feel him shudder. 

/\Yes, you can come out if you wish, Ankh./\ Shadi told him. The Ankh glowed and the kindly spirit appeared looking curiously at the snowflakes that came gently down. 

"Scales should really come out." He said. 

\\ I am staying RIGHT here!\\ Scales exclaimed, going into his soul room. Shadi shook his head at Ankh and the spirit shrugged, then stooped and began matting a handful of snow together. Shadi watched him for a moment, then turned…only to get a snowball in the face. Spluttering, he wiped away the cold stuff, only to find Isis standing there, looking rather sheepish. 

"I meant for it to hit your back, but you turned." She admitted, then started to giggle. "Sorry." 

Shadi had a feeling that she was not sorry. "That's all right." He said with a slight smile and turned back to Ankh. The healer's ball was large and he had put it aside to make another one. Shadi glanced back at Isis. Her back was turned and she was stooping like Ankh was. Making another ball thing, he decided. 

"Ankh," he said quietly. "Can I have this?" 

Ankh looked up. "Yes." He said, sounding rather puzzled. "What are you going to do with it?" 

"He's going to hit Isis, idiot." Scales growled. Ankh looked up startled, but Shadi had felt him leave the Item and so didn't pay attention. Standing quickly, he turned and threw the snowball at Isis. It hit her shoulder and she turned, looking surprised. Her dark blue eyes scanned over the three others, wondering which it had been who had hit her. 

"Wasn't me." Scale said. He was glaring at the white stuff all around him and unconsciously holding his robes up slightly to prevent them from getting wet. 

"Hm." Was all that she said, then threw another ball at Shadi. He dodged and it hit Scales on accident. But Isis had made quite a few snowballs, and let them go quickly, hitting Shadi again in the face. She laughed. 

"You are doing that on purpose." The man accused. Isis didn't answer, she was too busy replenishing her supply. Shadi bent down and began forming balls as well, deciding he should be prepared. 

Splat! 

"Ankh!" Scales shouted, while Ankh giggled. Grumbling, Scales picked up a handful of snow and flung it at the healer. Giggling even more, Ankh ran in the opposite direction, Scales following, flinging snow all around and angrily shouting. 

Isis watched them go, then looked at Shadi, who was still stooped and making snowballs. The normally serious man looked rather funny and she hid a smile behind her hand, while tiptoeing up behind him. She had meant to smash a snowball on his shoulder or head, but when she reached him, Isis had gotten an idea. 

He looked like a kid kneeling there, and before she could take it back, Isis' hand reached out and gave him a shove that sent him sprawling from his kneeling position. Shadi looked up, surprise on his face and Isis began laughing. Shadi narrowed his eyes slightly, then grinned. 

"I think someone is asking for this cold stuff to be put down her back." He said, reaching for a completed snowball. Isis stopped laughing and her eyes went big. 

"Shadi, you wouldn't…" she said backing up. Shadi stood and dashed for her. Isis turned and ran, laughing for no reason, except that they were both slipping on the icy ground as they ran. Isis stepped on a patch and fell, only to be caught by Shadi. 

"Don't!" Isis gasped as she tried to wriggle out of his gasp then cried out in surprise as half the snowball went under her collar. 

"That's cold! Shadi!" she cried, wriggling even more to get the snow out. He still hadn't let her go and was laughing. She looked up at him and they both stopped for a moment, their faces close together, staring into each other's eyes. Isis felt a blush creep up and wondered what was going to happen. They were close enough to kiss right now. For a moment, time stood still.

"What are you two doing?" 

Isis and Shadi jumped apart as Scales stood there, looking at them while scowling. Ankh was just behind and he smacked Scales' shoulder. 

"It's getting towards noon." Isis said nervously, wiping her hands on her coat. "Maybe we should head back and get lunch." 

Then she quickly walked away. Shadi followed after a few moments, his expression unreadable. 

"Why'd you smack me for?" Scales demanded. 

"They were about to kiss!" Ankh said. "You ruined it!" 

"So?" 

Ankh shook his head and sighed. "Never mind." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I just don't know what to do." Tea finished. She was talking to Mai in a little café after school. The blonde shook her curly head. 

"Just tell him." She said. "No harm in that." 

"Yes there is." Tea answered. "Once I say that, we can never go back to where we were." 

"Why would you want too?" 

"What if he doesn't feel the same way?" Tea asked. "I don't want…" 

"You don't want to risk the friendship? You don't want him to know because if he doesn't feel the same, it will be awkward afterwards and you won't be as close as you are now." Mai said. Tea nodded glumly. Mai sighed and shook her head again. 

"That's part of the risk Tea." She said. "Look, life is a lot like a game. You have to go out and do things that could turn out bad. But if you play it safe, you lose. And you don't really experience the game like you should." 

Tea stirred her spoon in her hot chocolate and looked outside at the snow. "I guess you're right." 

"Of course I am." 

Tea smiled a little at that. "Then I guess I know what I have to do." Her smile faded. "I just have no idea how to do it." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yugi stood in front of the apartment building. He looked up for a moment, then set his shoulders and walked into it. Yami was right. He probably should have said something before now. 

Reaching Isis' door, he knocked. The girl answered. 

"Hi Yugi." She said. 

"Hi." He answered softly. "Look, can I have that card back?" 

"Sure." Isis answered, opening the door for him. "You going to give it to her yourself?" 

"Yeah." 

"That's probably best. I'll be right back." 

A few minutes later, Yugi was on his way home and Isis was thinking about dinner. Well, she was supposed to be thinking about dinner. In reality, she was thinking about that afternoon. About her almost kiss with Shadi. They had been so close. Would he have really kissed her? She didn't really know. Isis half wanted to use the Tauk to see if anything happened in the future, but the other half of her said that was a sort of cheating. Besides, the vision could always be wrong. 

"Oh Ra." She murmured, leaning her head against the wall. "Dear sweet Hathor, if you are truly the guardian of love, help me now." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Perhaps it was coincidence that Shadi was thinking along the same lines as Isis was. Of course, he had to put up with Scales' demands as too why he had been holding Isis like that and Ankh's queries about if he really did like her. Finally, he'd ordered them both to their soul rooms so he could have some quiet. 

It was like a replay of yesterday. He was seated on the bed, holding the card and looking at it. He didn't even know what it said. 

"I need someone who can read Japanese." He murmured. 'Someone who isn't Isis.' He added mentally. 

//I'm sure it's nice. Just give it to her.// Ankh prodded. 

/\I'd rather make sure first./\ Shadi said. 

\\ The both of you are saps.\\ Scales snorted. 

//Come on, Scales,// Ankh said. //Didn't you ever have a love?//

\\ That is none of your business.\\ 

//I'll take that for a yes.//

\\ I never said…!\\

/\Stop!/\ Shadi sighed and put the card away again. /\What else did Isis say about this day, Ankh?/\

\\ You're actually going to-\\

/\Quiet Scales, I need to talk to Ankh./\ 

//Well,// Ankh began doubtfully. //I think you usually give a girl something with the card, like candy or flowers.//

\\ Candy?\\ Scales seemed interested. 

//For a lover.// Ankh said. 

Scales seemed to deflate for a moment. 

//I'll get you something for Valentine's Day though!// Ankh cheerfully told him. 

\\ What! No!\\ Scales suddenly seemed to get very flustered. \\ I'm going to my soul room!\\ 

//He's being doing that a lot lately. I guess he forgot about the friends thing…//

/\Yes, probably. I'll get you both some candy if you promise not to eat it in one sitting./\

//Thank you Shadi!// Ankh said. //Now about Isis…//

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jaid: I certainly hope you liked it! Remember to review!

Iris: Weird? Yeah, definitely. But you get used to it. Oh, I'm so glad I got Tara right!

SilverShadow: lol, I can't tell you how much your review made me laugh! Thanks!

Amberliz: Hey girl! You need to E-mail me!!!!! Especially about the story! Actually I should probably e-mail you…glad you liked it! Katya's coming, don't worry!

The Legendary Centurion: Thanks! Hope you like this one as well.

Indigo: lol, Ankh is continually the matchmaker in this story. I think he enjoys it. Yeah! I know what you mean. Although I seem to be using a lot of OC's these days…lol. 

TK: I'd be happy to read your story. What is it called?

SweetSweet: Yeah they are. Um, I guess Rei and Ryou don't really fit, not apparently. I think they're a couple that would take a lot of work, so I'm not sure if their relationship will be resolved in this story or not. *sighs*

DDW: lol, I guess! But pretty much everything I do is random. Glad you're enjoying it! (And yes, it is Mai/Joey and Seto/Serenity)


	4. Wednesday Aren't I so creative with chap...

Jaid: Hey guys! My computer's working! YIPEE!!!! 

Jad: Is she dancing again?

Naga: What do you think?

Jaid: Come on guys, can't you just be a little happy for me?

Jad: I'm happy! ^___________^

Naga: I'm not.

Jaid: You're mean.

Naga: Gee, it took you this long to figure it out?

Jaid: -__- 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Reviewer response at the bottom. (Hope you guys like this chappy; its extra long!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "And then he walked her home from school, isn't that sweet?" Tara was talking non-stop to Tea, who in reality wasn't really paying attention, Wednesday morning on the way to school. 

            "Hmm? Oh, yeah." She smiled a little unsurely. 

            "Ryou and Rei, don't you think it sounds cute?" 

            Tea glanced at her friend. "How many cups?" 

            "Huh?" 

            "How many cups of coffee did you have this morning?" 

            "Oh, only four." 

            Tea sighed. "Three too many." She murmured. 

            "So, anyways, I think they may be going to the dance. Who are you going with?" Tara asked the dreaded question. 

            "I don't know." Tea admitted her cheeks pink. 

            "Hey, Tara!" a short girl with curly black hair and gray eyes ran up. "You'll never guess what happened! Tristan's taking me to the dance!" 

            "I thought you were doing photographs." Tara said. 

            The girl shook her head, sending the curls flying wildly in all directions. "Only a few. Not all. Besides, I've got a date!" 

            "That's great Katya." Tara and the other girl began talking. Tea decided to fall behind and let them talk by themselves as the girls entered the schoolyard. 

            "Tea!" 

            She turned. Seto strode up. 

            "Kaiba?" Tea blinked. 

            "Does Wheeler have a sister?" was not the question Tea had been expecting to hear and for a moment, she simply stared blankly at the young millionaire. 

            "What?" she finally got out. Seto seemed to get impatient. 

            "Does Wheeler have a sister named Serenity, slender, fair, with long red hair and a bright smile?" Seto said, well, more like demanded. 

            "Yes." Tea answered slowly, still confused. "Why?" 

            But he had already walked away. 

            "That was weird." Tea said, shaking her head and walking to the school. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Yugi sat at his desk fidgeting, then glanced at the clock. School seemed to take forever today. He was going to ask Tea this afternoon about the dance, and he both dreaded and looked forward to it. Sighing, he placed his chin in his hands. 

            Seto was only half-listening to the teacher lecture. He was thinking about Serenity. They had talked more than he had read. She was a very different girl. Yesterday she had asked him about Duel Monster cards and they had spent almost an hour as he explained the game and several different types of cards. Seto didn't know what to make of her really. She was very frank and trusting…a lot like Mokuba he reflected. A wry smile came across his face. Wouldn't the dog blow his top if he knew that Seto and Serenity had become fast friends?

            Joey, meanwhile was thinking about Saturday with Mai…and that's all that really needs to be said.

            Joey was not the only one anxious for Saturday to arrive. Tristan was as well. He couldn't wait to see Katya's face when he gave her the necklace. Grinning somewhat goofily, he missed the rest of the lecture. 

            Duke was also ready for Saturday to come. Partly because he looked forward to spending some time alone with Tara, but also because he would be ready when the matchmaking season ended. As fun as it was for Tara, Duke did think it a little silly. 

            Ryou was fidgeting as well. He liked Rei; she was the first girl who had talked to him so easily. He liked her dry humor and the way the sun brought up golden flecks in her brown eyes…Ryou blinked. When had he noticed that? His cheeks warmed. Perhaps asking her to the dance would be kind of fun. Then the cold metal of his ring brought him back and he froze. What if his yami came out during the date? He never remembered what happened when his yami took over and to be truthful, Ryou didn't trust him with another person. His shoulders slumped a little. 

            Tea tapped her pencil on the paper in front of her, blue eyes on the clock. It was almost time for the day to end and she couldn't wait. Glancing over at Yugi, she noticed the tri-colored haired boy couldn't sit still. She frowned. That wasn't like him at all. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Shadi was walking the streets by himself. Isis was at the museum. She hadn't said much that morning. The man sighed. He hadn't meant to hold her so close like that. In fact, the whole episode was rather unexpected. But he had lost himself in the moment, he supposed. 

            For a moment, he felt again the light pressure of her body against his and saw her dark blue eyes up close. Shaking his head to clear his mind, he looked around. A boy with white hair was walking past. Suddenly the boy stopped and paused. 

            "Do I know you?" he asked, in an accented voice. 

            "Your yami does." Shadi answered seriously. 

            "Oh." The boy looked down. "I see." 

            //Something's bothering him.// Ankh said. 

            \\ Besides having the tomb robber for a yami?\\ Scales asked sarcastically. 

            //Yes!// Ankh said, totally missing Scales tone. //He's worried about someone I think. Ask him Shadi, please?//

            \\ Why waste our time. Oh wait, I forgot! We're already wasting it!\\

            /\Scales./\ Shadi said sternly. 

            "Is something bothering you?" he asked softly. 

            The boy turned slightly pink. "Not really. I mean, it isn't important. I just…" he trailed off. "Never mind. Good-bye." With that, the boy turned abruptly and left, walking quickly. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            'Just ask, just ask.' Yugi thought to himself as he and Tea walked home. Tristan had taken his girl for a ride on his motorbike and Joey said he was heading to the hospital to see Serenity. 

            "Tea?" he finally asked. 

            "Yeah." She looked at him. Yugi reddened. 

            "Uh, you don't have a date yet do you?" 

            "No." 

            "Oh." 

            There was a silence. Suddenly a thought occurred to Tea. 

            "You don't have one, do you?" she asked. 

            "No!" Yugi answered, louder than he meant too. "No, I mean maybe. If she says yes." 

            "Oh." Tea felt like her heart would break in a minute. 'So he is asking someone else…' 

            "Who is she?" Tea said, not looking at him. 

            "Um…" Yugi bit his lip. /Yami, what do I say?/ 

            \You could just repeat after me.\ Yami suggested, a slight undertone of mischief in his voice. Yugi noticed it.

            /Uh, I don't think so./

            \You're trust in me is invaluable.\ Yami said sarcastically, then sighed. \Try this.\

            "Yugi, do I know her?" Tea asked, fearing the answer. 

            "Um, yes, very well, actually." Yugi said, trying to listen to his Yami and answer Tea at the same time (not a very successful endeavor). "She's very nice. And smart and pretty. Well, I think she's more than pretty." 

            "Oh." Tea swallowed, her thoughts racing. 'Don't blow up. Stay calm. As long as Yugi's happy right? Oh, damn that. I want him with me. Okay Tea, calm down. You are not going to kill this girl, you're going to stay calm…' 

            "What's her name?" Tea asked in a controlled voice. Yugi stared timidly at her. She looked calm. Scary calm. 

            "You know her name, because well, she's you." Yugi swallowed. "Will you go with me to the dance on Saturday?" he asked in a rush. 

            Tea stopped walking and stared at him. "What?" 

            'Oh no.' Yugi thought, repeating his question. 

            'It's me, he wants to go with me.' Tea's heart sang. Yugi was babbling something about how he'd understand if she couldn't, since it was short notice and everything. Tea cut him off with a laugh and threw her arms around him. 

            "Yes!" she exclaimed. "What took you so long to ask?" 

            Yugi sweatdropped. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "Hello?" Rei answered the door. Ryou stood there, a blush gracing his cheeks. 

            "Uh, hello." He said. Rei smiled. 

            "Hi. You want to come in?" 

            "Sure." Ryou agreed, stepping in. 

            "So what's up?" Rei said walking to the kitchen. "You want a drink?" 

            "No thanks." 

            Rei shrugged, pulling out a bottle of carbonated water and opening it. Ryou looked around. 

            "Your home alone?" 

            "Yeah, my grandparents are both out. They usually are." Rei answered. 

            "What about your parents?" 

            "I moved out a year ago." Rei admitted with a smile. 

            "Oh." Ryou said. He looked at the floor. 

            "You want to know why." Rei said. It wasn't a question. Ryou looked up quickly. 

            "Oh, no! I mean…I wouldn't want to pry-" 

            Rei cut him off with a laugh. "It's okay Ryou. It's not like they kicked me out cause I did something horrible or I ran away because they were treating me mean. I just…moved out." She laughed again. Ryou smiled. 

            'Why?' he thought. 'Why is it, that every time she laughs, the world seems lighter somehow?'

            "So what are you doing over here?" Rei asked. 

            "Oh! I think I left something over here when I was here yesterday." Ryou got out, mentally kicking himself for the way he stumbled over his words. 

            "That's what I found. It's in my room. Come on." Rei said. "You don't have to go home right away, do you?" 

            "No, I suppose not." 

            "Maybe you could stay for dinner." They were in Rei's room now. Ryou looked around. The wooden floors were swept clean, but stained with old age. A small oriental rug was between the large bed and a dark blue easy chair. Behind the chair was an old desk right in front of the window. A Victorian lamp stood on an old lace dolly near one edge and the rest of it had a collection of papers, school books and some other trifles scattered across. In the corner next to the desk was a built in book shelf. All the shelves were stuffed with books, except for the top which had trophies, mostly for track. Next to that was the closet door, with a full length mirror on the front, the door leading to the hall and along the next wall was a normal straight back chair with a folded towel on it. Next to that was a clothes hamper, currently full, and a wide, white drawer set with porcelain handles. On top was a collection of magna, a folder with lots of papers, an alarm clock and several library books. The wall next to that had some old photos and a window in the middle. 

            It was a clean room, but looked barely lived in. It seemed old, pale and spartan, almost lonely. There was barely anything that looked like Rei's personality in it; even the books on the shelves had little to do with anything a teenaged girl would want to read. 

            "Ah ha!" Rei said loudly and Ryou jumped. She handed him a disk. 

            "I think you might have mine." She said. 

            "Oh, yes." Ryou pulled it out of his back-pack. "Here you are." 

            Rie took it and nodded, placing it on the desk. "So, are you going to stay? My grandma will be back any minute." 

            "I wouldn't want to cause any trouble-" 

            "No trouble. My grandma likes having my friends over. She thinks I don't spend enough time socializing." Rie rolled her brown eyes. 

            Ryou smiled. "All right." 

            "Great. So, you wanna call your parents-" 

            "No need." 

            Rei looked at him questioningly. 

            "My father is out of town and he's the only family I really have." Ryou said. Rei nodded. 

            "Okay. Hey, I have a racing game. How are you with Play Station?" 

            "Horrid." Ryou said as they left. Rei threw him a grin over her shoulder. 

            "Great! Then I get an easy victory." They both laughed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Joey whistled as he made his way to his sister's hospital room. The sound of voices came from it and he frowned as one seemed out of place. Shrugging, he opened the door. 

            Only to find Seto Kaiba sitting next to his sister, with one of her hands on top of his. Seto looked up as he entered and except for a slight narrowing of his blue eyes, he remained unchanged. Serenity's head went up as well. 

            "Seto, who's here?" she asked. 

            "Your brother." He answered in somewhat cool tone. Serenity smiled. 

            "Joey!" she held out her arms for a hug that was expected. Joey came and gave it to her, but he was confused and more than a little upset to find Kaiba here. 

            "So, Kaiba," he said evenly when he and Serenity had pulled apart. "What are you doing here?" 

            "Kaiba?" Serenity asked, sounding confused. Seto, who was now standing glanced at her. 

            "That's my last name." He explained. 

            "Oh." Serenity said, smiled, then the smile faded. "Oh." She said in a tone of realization. 

            "So I repeat my question." Joey said in a hard voice. "What are you doing here, Kaiba?" 

            "If you want to know, I have been coming to read to Serenity everyday for the past few days." Seto answered. 

            "Reading, huh?" Joey asked sarcastically. "What I saw didn't look like reading." 

            "I was just asking him to pause Joey!" Serenity spoke up. "I wanted to know more about a part of the book and…" she trailed off. There was a tension filled silence.

            "Since your brother's here," Seto finally said, picking up the book and his coat. "I'll be leaving." 

            "Oh…" Serenity trailed off. She didn't want Seto to go, but maybe it was better. He put a hand on her shoulder. 

            "I'll see you tomorrow." He promised quietly, gave a level stare at Joey and then left the room. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "She's coming up the outside stairs! Have you finished-" Ankh said, bursting into Shadi's room. The man looked up from something he was reading. 

            "Thank you Ankh." 

            The healer sat on the floor. "Are you really going to give her that card and stuff?" 

            Shadi was silent for a long while. "I suppose so." He said. 

            "Do you like her in that way?" 

            Shadi took a deep breath. "That's a hard question to answer. But I believe I may…" 

            There was a knock on the door and Isis stuck her head in. "I'm back. What do you guys feel like for dinner?" 

            "Anything's fine." Ankh smiled. (A/N: He's such a sweetie!) 

            "I'll help you." Shadi said, getting up.

            "No, that's…well, okay." Isis stood aside and followed Shadi to the kitchen. There, they worked in silence, Isis only speaking to direct Shadi. The kitchen was small though, and both kept bumping into each other. 

            Shadi was cutting up an onion and had his back to Isis. She glanced at him for a moment, then put her eyes pack on to the stove. She knew she felt something for Shadi, but she wasn't quite sure what it was. 

            As for himself, Shadi was also a little confused. He had never really felt for a woman the way he felt now about her. Glancing at her, he sighed mentally. 

            These little looks were not lost on Ankh (who was setting the table) and he was trying to figure out how to get Scales out of the way Saturday, to give Shadi and Isis a chance. Scales was punching random buttons on the TV and didn't care what was happening in the kitchen. 

            "Here." Shadi said, handing Isis the cutting board with the onions. 

            "Just put them in here." She directed standing aside so he could have access to the pan. 

            Shadi poured them in, and Isis quickly stirred everything up. "That should be done soon." 

            Shadi nodded, but didn't move away. He wasn't sure why. Isis didn't seem to mind, so they both stood there, side by side in front of the stove. Ankh grinned and tiptoed to the living room, were Scales was currently pushing random buttons on the VCR. 

            "The stove is hot. You might want to stand somewhere else." Isis said, stepping away abruptly, hoping Shadi wouldn't notice her blushes. 

            "Is there anything else you want me to do?" he asked. 

            "No." Isis said, busying herself with cutting some bread. "It's almost done. Thanks for your help." 

            Shadi nodded, wondering why she wouldn't look at him. He stepped over. 

            "Are you upset about something?" he asked. 

            "What? No, why?" 

            "You just seem…different." Shadi said. Isis didn't answer; she was too busy looking into his ice blue eyes. 

            It happened again. They were close, both just staring at each other and everything around them seemed to fade. Slowly, Shadi bent his head down and Isis didn't move. She seemed frozen. And just when their lips were about to touch – 

            "Is something burning?" Ankh appeared in the doorway. Isis jumped and cried out, springing for the stove and quickly shutting their dinner off. Ankh blinked for a moment, realized what had been about to happen and then walked away quickly, a little irritated with himself. 

            Isis switched off the pan and turned on the stove fan to prevent the smoke from getting to the alarms. When she turned, Shadi was gone. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "That was sad." Rei said. 

            "I thought you were good at this!" Ryou exclaimed. 

            "No, I can't keep control." Rei tossed the control on the ground. "What I can't believe is that you beat me." 

            "It makes a nice change." 

            Rei smiled again. "I'm better at shooting games." She laid down on her back. "You bored of this?" 

            "I'm fine." 

            "You always say that. That's all I've heard every time I ask you how you are. 'I'm fine', 'I'm great', sometimes I wonder if you're telling the truth." 

            "Why wouldn't I be?" Ryou asked. 

            "Sometimes people don't want to bother others with things." Rei sat back up and faced him. "Sometimes they're just private people. Others are just unselfish and figure that others don't need their problems." 

            "Why are you saying this?" Ryou asked. Rei blinked. 

            "I have no idea." She admitted. There was a silence, then Rei reached over and put a hand on his shoulder. "I don't know why I'm going to say this either, but…if you want to tell me something…I'll listen, okay?" 

            Ryou only nodded. "Thanks." 

            "Welcome." Rei said, then stood. "Okay, enough of that. Have you ever seen Rush Hour 2?" 

            "What's that?" 

            "A Jackie Chan movie." Rei said as she put the Play Station away. 

            "Who?" 

            "No way." Rei turned to him. Ryou grinned broadly. 

            "Got you." 

            Rei rolled her eyes again. "Ha, ha. Have you or not?" 

            "No, but if you want too-" 

            "Do you want to watch this movie, Ryou?" Rei said. "I don't care personally. I like it, but we don't have to watch it. It's up too you, okay?" 

            "Uh…sure." Ryou said blushing again. Rei smiled and popped the video into the VCR, then came back to sit next to him again. Ryou stole a glance at her. 

            'She's so different; I don't quite know what to expect from her. She seems so strong…' he looked away. 'I wish I knew why she is becoming so important to me…' 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "What was he doin' here?" Joey demanded. 

            "Reading to me like he said. He's been doing that lately." Serenity answered. "What is wrong?" 

            "What's wrong? What do you think is wrong? Him being here with you is what's wrong!" Joey paced around the room, so upset that he couldn't think. 

            "He was nice to me." Serenity protested, somewhat feebly. "He wasn't like what you told me." 

            "What, so you think I was lying?" Joey turned towards her. 

            "No! But, I mean," Serenity fumbled. "I like him." 

            "Oh God." Joey muttered. 

            "Joey-" 

            "No." 

            "Just listen!" 

            "No!" Joey walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Don't you understand? I can't trust him right now, okay? I just can't. Especially not with you. I don't want him comin' here no more." 

            Serenity's cheeks were flushed. "I'm sorry Joey, but if he comes, I'm not going to tell him to leave." 

            Joey's lips pressed into a tight line. "Fine." He stood. "I'll just leave now." He stormed out. 

            "No, Joey wait! Please!" Serenity cried out. There was no answer. She felt horrible now. Lying down, Serenity curled into a ball and cried softly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Shadi was outside on the tiny balcony on Isis apartment. He was pacing back and forth as much as it would allow him, trying to regain control of himself. He'd almost kissed her in there. How he'd wanted to though! Every time she'd passed him, he could feel it, could hear the whisper of her clothes. Every time she'd touched him, even if just to show him where to put something, a jolt had passed through him. 

            Shadi blew out a breath and sat on a chair. Every emotion inside of him seemed to be spinning out of control. An odd and rather frightening thing for the usually passive guardian. Placing his head in his hands, he wondered what he was going to do. He had bought Isis a small gift and meant to give it to her and the card almost on a whim, more for Ankh's persistence than anything else. Maybe sub-consciously, he had meant for something deeper. 

            Shadi felt like kicking something or at least swearing. He'd fallen in love, plain and simple. But he didn't have a damn idea what to do about it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "Thanks for dinner." Ryou said. Rei smiled. 

            "Anytime. It was fun." 

            Ryou nodded. "Rei?"

            "Yeah?" 

            "I…" Ryou trailed off. "Never mind. I'll see you tomorrow." 

            "Okay." Rei said. "Bye." 

            "Bye." Ryou answered in a half whisper. Rei shot him a quiet, friendly smile as she closed the front door. He stood there for a few minutes, then began to walk away quickly. 

            'I don't understand; how could I fall for someone so quickly?' he thought. Then he remembered how she had seemed to care about what his opinion was, how she insisted that he tell her what he wanted or thought. Nobody had ever done that before. She was blunt and a little forceful with it, but it seemed to be part of her character. 

            Ryou felt confused. He didn't know what to do with her and even though she pushed him out of his comfort zone, he liked being around her. 

            'I wonder if this is what love is like.' He thought absentmindedly as he walked through the lightly falling snow. 'I have so many emotions around her and when I think of her that I don't know how to handle it. I want to be with her but I dread it as well because I don't know what she feels.' He stopped and closed his eyes to think. 'I wish I knew what to do. I suppose I can only take it one day at a time.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Okay, I just have to say, I am amazed at the response to this fic. I think this is the most reviews I have ever gotten for three chapters. Thank you all!!! **

**Also, do you think I'm keeping these people mainly in character? I can't tell…though I have a suspicion that Seto and Ryou are OOC. *sigh….***

**Amberliz – Katya is in here; hope she is good and she is going to get a slightly bigger role, I promise. (E-MAIL ME!!!! PLZ!!!! Gosh I sound desperate…)**

**DDW – You don't mind if I use your initials, do you? Anywayz, thanx for your comments. Um…yes, Ankh and Scale are both guys and I didn't have any intentions for them being a couple; I don't write yaoi or shonen-ai (sp?). I guess its how you look at it. If you want to see them as a couple; go ahead. *shrugs***

**Person who didn't sign their name – I'm trying, I'm trying! Seto/Serenity is hard to do. **

**Indigo – I'm so glad you like this story; makes me feel like I'm doin' it right. ^__^ lol, Ankh is soo cute, but I still have a crush on Scales. I'm sending him a huge hug; if he dodges me like last time, I'll just chase him down till I get it!!!**

**BBHH/Helen Hsu – I'm flattered; thank you! Lol, I thought it would be funny for Shadi and Isis to be in that situation; neither of them have much of a chance to just have fun. Lol, oh yes, I'm sure Ankh can drive Scales crazy, whether he means to or not. **

**Iris – Hello! Glad you like it; I had lots of fun with ****Tara****. ^__^ TTYL!!!**

**SilverShadow – Ahh, I'm sorry. That was mean of her. Oh, really? *blushes* Thanx, I'm glad you like it so much. **

**TK Macintosh – Updates should be quicker now that I've written almost all of it. **

**Jellybob15 – Yah, I know what you mean and they are a pretty obvious couple (for anime). I just love the two of them together, but they are harder to write than I first thought. **

**Yami Nikki – lol, your reviews make me laugh. Ryou is getting a steadily bigger role (I know, he's just so kwaii! Too many guys in YGO are tho…)**

**Neko Moon Goddess – Thanx for your reviews! I'm so glad you like them!**

**Anime*Angel*Fox – I'm really glad you like it! I like the pairings too; especially Shadi/Isis, although I like Isis/Seto almost as much. ^__^ **

**Wazzy-Sup – I'm trying, really! But it's hard. I think I have Seto OOC…**

**Queen of Games – Ooh, you like Ash/Misty Pokemon fics? I like some, but I'm more of a Jessie/James person. ^__^ Glad you like my story!!!**


	5. It's Thursday gee, guys, don't get so ex...

Jaid: I'm back! Aren't you all happy?

Naga: No.

Jaid: *smacks him* I didn't ask you!

Naga: X__X

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

             It was Thursday afternoon. Ryou and Rei were walking to her house after school. Suddenly, Rei laughed. 

            "What?" Ryou asked. Rei shook her dark head. 

            "Nothing. It's just that Tara set us up, hoping we'd get together, you know? And it hasn't happened. It just struck me as funny." 

            Ryou gave a weak smile. It didn't seem quite so funny to him, as he was beginning to realize he had deeper feelings for her, but he didn't say anything. 

            "Rei, there's something I should tell you." He said hesitantly. "I mean, you're probably going to find out anyway…" 

            "What?" Rei asked. 

            "It's sort of hard to believe." 

            "What do you mean?" Rei frowned as they both stopped walking. "Ryou, what's wrong?" 

            The boy swallowed, wondering if he really wanted to tell her. But she had to know. 

"Ryou, I promised to listen, remember?" Rei reminded him softly. "Now out with it."      

"I…I sort of have a problem." He began. "And it's rather unusual. Um, look." He reached underneath his sweater and pulled out the Ring. 

            "Wow." Rei bent over to look at it. "It looks Egyptian." 

            "That's because it is. It's sort of an artifact." Ryou said. 

            /What are you doing?/ he heard his Yami demand. Ryou ignored him and continued. 

            "I just…this is really tough." He bit his lip. Rei was looking at him blankly. 

            "What, you stole it or something?" she asked, humor quirking up her lips. 

            "No!" Ryou shook his head. "No, I –" he panicked slightly as he felt his yami getting ready to take over. 

            \Yami, don't!\

            It was too late. The transformation took place and Yami Bakura opened up his narrow eyes to glare at Rei. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            That afternoon, Seto had come back to the hospital. Serentiy was waiting and when he walked in, she called out, "Seto?" 

            "Hi." He said, dropping into the chair by her bed. 

            "Hi." She responded, sounding as if she were trying to be cheerful. "I'm going to be better by Sunday." 

            "Really?" 

            "Yeah! I'll have to stay for some more tests, but you can come visit me still…right?" 

            Seto smiled slightly. "If you want." He opened the book. "Do you remember where we were?" 

            Serenity shook her head. Seto paged through the book, when Serenity's hand touched his; a signal for him to stop and look at her. 

            "Yes?" 

            "I just…my brother…" she stopped. 

            "He doesn't want me to see you." Seto suggested. Serenity nodded, biting her lip. Seto looked down. 

            "What do you want?" he asked. 

            "I would like for you to stay, but…I don't want him to be angry with me. I…" Serenity stopped, breathing in and out rapidly, as if she were trying not to cry. 

            "I see." Seto closed the book. There was a long silence. Seto didn't really know what to say to her. 

            "If you want me to go, I will." He finally said. "But I would miss you." 

            "You would?" 

            Seto blinked. He'd said that out loud. He really was getting soft…

            "Yeah." He admitted. "Look, I know you love your brother. I can understand that. I also know that if my brother were angry with me, I would do whatever I could to heal whatever came between us. If my going helps you to do that with Wheeler, then I'll go." 

            Serenity sniffed. "I just…I don't know what to do!" 

            Seto grimaced. 'Damn, she's crying.' 

            "Come on, stop that. It can't be good for your eyes right now." He said. Serenity sniffed again and tried to regain control. 

            "I want you to come and see me." She whispered. "You're really the only friend I've made on my own here. All the other kids are Joey's friends and they're nice but…please stay, Seto?" 

            There was a pause before he answered. "Okay." He said simply. Serenity smiled, a genuine one this time. Seto smiled slightly back and opened the book again. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "Um…Ryou?" Rei asked. 

            Yami Bakura didn't answer, but instead simply stared. 'Could it be…? No, that's not possible.' Shoving away his thoughts, he smirked.

Rei frowned. "You're not Ryou…are you?"

"How observant." Bakura commented sarcastically. 

Rei's scowl deepened. That wasn't Ryou's voice. She then remembered the worried look Ryou sometimes had when he thought that no one was looking and how he had been nervous about showing her his artifact. 

"Who are you?" she demanded. "Where's Ryou?" 

"I am not about to tell you that and Ryou is safe." The other answered. "That is all that you need to know." 

Rei swallowed. "Fine, if you can't tell me who you are, can you…can you bring back Ryou?" 

            Yami Bakura was quiet for a long time, staring hard at Rei. His expression was un-readable. 

            "Who are you?" he finally asked. Rei blinked. 

            "Well, if you won't tell me who you are, I most certainly not going to tell you who I am." She said, standing stiffly and looking rather angry. Yami Bakura gave a quiet exclamation in Egyptian, then lunged forward and grabbed her jaw tightly. He pulled it closer to his, and looked at her even harder than he had before.

            'It is.' He thought in a stunned manner. Rei stared back at him, in too much of shock to ask what he thought he was doing. Her cheeks began to blaze red and her eyes darkened. This guy was too close for comfort. 

            SMACK! The sound of her open palm connecting with his cheek echoed noisily though the quiet neighborhood they were in. Yami Bakura's head and body almost turned with the blow and he lost his grip. Rei was breathing hard, face red and looking out-raged. 

            "Keep your hands to yourself, who ever you are." She said coldly, then turned and ran, her heart pounding inside. Yami Bakura just stood there, hand over his cheek, more surprised than he had been in over a millennia.  His brown eyes stayed on her fleeing figure and he didn't move for a long time, even after she had faded from view.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Isis was busy looking through some things in the tiny office she had at the museum. Her mind really wasn't on the work though. She was wondering about Shadi and slowly, the paper she had been holding dropped to the desk. 

            They'd been so close last night. Isis rested her chin in her hand. 'I can't seem to get anywhere.' she thought. 'I wish…' her thought trailed off and she realized with a bit of perturbed surprise that she didn't know what she wished. Had she wanted him to go through with it and kiss her? She wasn't sure. She wasn't sure of anything anymore. 

            In frustration, she threw her pen on the desk and slumped back in her chair. She was totally losing it. Isis usually had everything together; she had had to be that way. For Malik's sake. There were times when he frightened her, though more recently, his antics had more exasperated than worried her. She supposed she was getting used to them. 

And she was responsible not only for the Pharaoh's memories, but also for the position her family held. That responsibility was a rather heavy one sometimes and it was a lonely one as well. 

            'Shadi's a guardian too. I wonder if he ever feels this way.' she smiled a little. 'Weary? Maybe sometimes. Lonely? Not a chance with Ankh and Scales.' 

            Looking up at the clock, she saw it was five thirty. Not time to close up, but she could get away with closing early. 

            The young woman was soon on her way home. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "He is." Ankh grinned. 

            "Is what?" Scales asked irritably. 

            "Shadi's in love!" Ankh practically danced around the room. Scales stared at him blankly, then muttered, "Idiot." 

            "No, really!" Ankh said. "Otherwise he wouldn't be so agitated." 

            "Being agitated is proof of love?" Scales asked skeptically. 

            "Yes!" Ankh exclaimed, then paused. "I think." 

            "You think? You wanna know what I think?" Scales asked. "I think you're-" 

            "Scales, Ankh?" Isis knocked on the door. 

            "Go away!" Scales shouted at the same time Ankh shouted, "Yes?" 

            "Can I come in?" 

            "Yes." Ankh said, over Scales' shout of, "No!" 

            The Egyptian girl poked her head in. "I just wanted to know if either of you knew where Shadi was?" 

            "He's not in the apartment?" Ankh asked. 

            "No." 

            "Oh." Ankh looked at his friend. "I don't know where he is." 

            "Don't look at me." Scales crossed his arms. Isis sighed and nodded. 

            "Okay. Thanks anyway." 

            "Hmm. I wonder where he could be?" Ankh wondered. 

            "Forget it. That son of a camel should be able to handle himself." Scales said, though he was privately irked at not being notified that Shadi had left. He was rather sick of being in the Ishtar apartment and would have welcomed a chance to get out. 

            "I guess you're right." Ankh agreed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            That night, Ryou sat alone in his living room. He had tried to talk to his Yami, but the spirit refused to communicate with him. Gingerly, the boy brought up his hand to his cheek which was now bruised. Rei had hit him hard and Ryou worried about what his Yami had done to her. 

            There was a knock on the door and Ryou opened it, to find Yugi. 

            "Hi!" the boy said cheerfully, holding up a bag. "I brought you some cookies my mom and I made." 

            Ryou smiled and invited Yugi in, since the shorter boy looked cold. 

            "What happened?" Yugi asked, once he was seated in the living room. Ryou looked at him. Concern was in Yugi's huge eyes and his mouth had a serious twist to it that meant he was going to stay until Ryou told him how he had gotten the bruise. 

            "A girl hit me." He said. "Actually, she hit my Yami." 

            "Oh." 

            There was a pause. 

            "I don't know what to do." Ryou whispered. Yugi cocked his head. Ryou glanced at him. 

            "I…there's a girl at school. Her name is Rei Yukimona." 

            "I know her!" Yugi said. 

            "You do?" 

            "Yeah, she comes into the Game Shop every so often and sometimes I see her going into Duke's too." 

            There was a silence. 

            "She's the one that hit you…uh, your Yami?" Yugi asked. Ryou nodded. 

            "Why?" 

            "I don't know." Ryou said. "I suppose I should find out." 

            "That might be good." 

            Ryou stared at his friend in some surprise and a slight smile came to his lips. "I think your Yami's sarcasm is getting to you." 

            Yugi shrugged.  "What are you going to do?"

            Ryou sighed. "I don't know. I don't know anything." He rested his head in his hands.

            Yugi nodded, then bit the inside of his cheek. He felt a little helpless. Ryou obviously wanted advice, but he couldn't think of anything to say.

            "I don't know what to do either." He finally admitted. Ryou nodded. 

            "I'll just try to talk to her I guess." The white haired boy said with a slight tremble in his voice. "If he did hurt her, I can't let that happen again." 

            Yugi looked at him with sympathy; he knew that Ryou obviously cared for this girl. 

            "You're going to drive her away?" Yugi asked softly. 

            "I don't know what else to do." 

            Yugi looked down. /Yami, what can I tell him?/

            \I think he's giving up to easily.\ Yami said. 

            /…That doesn't exactly help me out./ 

            Yami sighed. \I know about as much you two do.\

            Yugi sighed audibly. 

            "What did he say?" Ryou asked softly. 

            "He knows about as much as we do, but thinks you shouldn't give up so easily." Yugi looked up. "Maybe he's right, Ryou. How well do you know Rei?" 

            "Not very well, I guess. But…" Ryou was silent then spoke again. "Have you ever met somebody and just…clicked with them? Like you almost understand them, but you don't because you don't know them that well. It's more like you feel comfortable…wait that's not right. You do feel comfortable, in the sense that you feel they understand you and…Your minds almost run the same way. Do you understand?" 

            "I know exactly." Yugi smiled wryly. "But, what was your first impression of her?" 

            "She's strong. Very strong." Ryou said quietly. 

            "Okay. Then don't you think you're selling her a little short?" 

            "What do you mean?" 

            "Maybe Rei would rather not be protected." Yugi said slowly. "I know that Tea wouldn't want to be. Tea's stuck by me no matter what, even before Tristan and Joey came along. Even if life got dangerous, which is seems to be recently, she wouldn't want me to leave her behind, even if I was concerned about her. If Rei's strong too, she might be the sort of person who prefers to fight back." Yugi made a face and scratched his head. "Did that make sense?" 

            "No, not really." 

            Yugi sighed again and Ryou let out a small laugh. 

            "I think I get what you are saying though." Ryou admitted. "And I guess you might be right. Thanks." 

            Yugi smiled, a little weakly. "Hey, what are friends for?" 

            Ryou smiled back. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "Beat you again." Duke grinned. Joey glared at him. 

            "Best out of five." 

            "Joey." Mai rolled her eyes and smacked his arm. "Come on, let's go." 

            "Fine." Joey said. Duke's grin got wider. 

            "She sure has you trained." He muttered to the blonde. Joey glared. 

            "If you weren't helping me out…" he didn't finish his sentence. Duke just looked smug and unfazed. 

            A few minutes later, Joey and Mai were out, walking among the snow. Joey was quiet, looking down at the snow covered ground. Mai slipped her arm through his. 

            "What's up?" 

            "Hm?" Joey looked at her. 

            "What's wrong?" Mai asked. "You haven't said a word since we left Duke's. Losing to him can't be that bad." 

            "That wasn't it." Joey said. 

            "Oh?" 

            Joey stopped and looked at her for a long time. 

            "What?" Mai said. "Why are you looking at me like that?" 

            "It's…your so beautiful." 

            "I know." Mai winked at him and he laughed. 

            "I thought you'd say that." He admitted, then his face got softer. 

            "You know I love you, right?" 

            "Never doubted it." Mai said quietly, then a mischievous light came into her eyes. "I have doubted your sanity sometimes." 

            Joey snorted while she laughed. They began to walk again, arm in arm, Mai chatting. Joey smiled to himself. Life couldn't get better than it was at this moment, he decided. With Mai beside him like this, he felt as if nothing would ever bother him again. Then his mind flashed to Serenity in the hospital room. A guilty feeling swept over him. He shouldn't have stormed out on her like that. 

            "Joey?" 

            "Hm?" 

            "Thinking about me again?" Mai teased lightly. 

            "Yes and no. I was thinking about my sister." He admitted. "I…we had an argument. I should probably go apologize to her tomorrow." 

            Mai was silent. She didn't have siblings and didn't have much experience in reconciliation. Instead she just squeezed his hand slightly to show him that she understood. Joey sighed. 

            "Okay, I guess I should get ya home, Ms. Valentine."  His brown eyes sparkled merrily. "If you'll let me accompany you." 

            "It would be a pleasure." Mai smiled, the merry light mirrored in her own eyes. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Yugi stared shyly at Tea's house. /Remind me why we are here again./ he said to Yami. 

            \I thought we were talking to Tea.\ the spirit said. 

            /About what?/

            \Whatever it is that you two talk about.\ Yami stated. \How should I know? You know her.\

            /Maybe, but…/ Yugi squirmed a little. 

            \You could tell her you love her.\ suggested Yami. Yugi went red. 

            /Isn't it a little soon for that?/

            \I don't know. But you do and you know it.\ The spirit said. Yugi sighed. 

            /It's not that sim-/

            \Say it again and I'll…\

            /You'll what?/ Yugi grinned. 

            \I'll think of something that isn't too damaging.\ Yami finished. 

            /…/

            \What?\

            /…You have the weirdest threats./

            \Thank you.\ Yami said, then did a double take. \Was that sincere?\

            "Yugi?" 

            The boy jumped and turned. Tea stood there, a dress bag looped over an arm and another bag in her hand. 

            "Hi." He said softly. She smiled. 

            "Hi. What are you doing here so late?" 

            "Um…I don't know actually." Yugi admitted. "Yami….never mind." 

            "Right." Tea started walking. "You want to come in?" 

            "Sure!" 

            "I bought my dress today. Gosh,  I forgot how hard it is to shop for something." Tea said. She continued to chat with Yugi and he with her as they entered. And somewhere between his smiles, nods and replies, something occurred to the tiny duelist. 

            /Hey Yami, I just realized something./ 

            \What is it, aibou?\

            /She knows./ 

            Yami blinked. \Pardon?\

            Yugi smiled. /She knows./

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

            "I wish you didn't have to go." Serenity said softly. Seto pulled on his trench coat. 

            "My brother needs me at home." He said, then stopped and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll be here tomorrow." 

            "I know." Serenity lifted her face up, even though she couldn't see him, and smiled. "You're the high light of my day recently. Thank you." 

            Seto nodded, not trusting his voice. Hesitantly, he bent down and gave her a light kiss on the cheek. 

            "Tomorrow then." He whispered, then left quickly before anything else could be said. Serenity smiled and lifted her hand to her cheek, her face becoming pink. 

            "Tommorrow." She said softly. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

            Isis was seated on the floor, teaching Ankh and Scales how to play Monopoly. Shadi was watching them from his seat on the couch. He was supposed to be reading, but found his eyes straying more than once to Isis' slender frame. 

            Feeling as if his cheeks were burning, Shadi snatched his eyes back to his book. It was a good thing that Isis' back was to him; otherwise she surely would have seen his glances. He couldn't help himself; her posture, so graceful even when seated, captivated him.

            'Stop it.' He sternly ordered his mind. 'You are becoming as bad as a youth with his first crush.' 

            Ankh glanced over at their master and noted the determined way Shadi glared at the pages. The spirit smiled to himself. Shadi hadn't turned a page for a long while. Ankh watched with concealed hopefulness and glee as he noted Shadi's gaze settling on Isis again, as she was explaining to Scales why she had to be the 'banker.' 

            "Ankh, pick out a piece." Isis' cool voice brought him back and he hastily rummaged through some metal figures. Shadi abruptly got up and left the room. Isis watched him go, and something like disappointment flashed through her blue eyes. 

            'Something has to be done.' Ankh thought determinedly. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Hi everyone! Um…I guess I'm kinda sorry about the Rei/Ryou focus lately. I really will focus more on the others! I just wanted to set them up for something later. But you guys got a looong chapter! (Does anybody mind my OC's btw? Plz tell me!)**

**Indigo – Glad you liked it! I always look forward to your reviews! Lol, yeah, the apartment burning down would have been a problem…**

**Dr. Vorlon – Thanx! Yep, I am going to continue this. ^__^ **

**ShadowDragon**** – Cool! My first threat!! I tried, I really did! More to come, I promise. **

**SilverShadow**** – I'm honored by your response. Here *hands SilverShadow a tissue* I'd give you Shadi, but I don't own him. Sorry. (Thanks for the cool pic, btw.)**

**Amberliz**** – Glad you like! Hee, hee, glad you like the Tristan pics too. (I was looking at the one pic and you're right; he looks really good toting a gun. I should find a pic of when he's dressed as the cyber commando; I think you'd like it. ^__^)**

**DDW – Great! Okies, thanx for the encouragement. Um, no, Katya, Tara and Rei are not real people. Their creators are me and my dear friends, Iris Omega and Amberliz. Iris is on this site, but not Amberliz. Tara and Katya, however, somehow managed to resemble them both closely, which is a little scary. Tara is blonde, friendly and a coffee-adict like Iris and Katya is hyper, slightly ditzy and energetic like Amber. O.O Rei….she's not a thing like me…I think…*shrugs* **

**Anonymous – Thanx! No, the ad blocker is free. **

**Anime*Angel*Fox – You're welcome. I loved your style; it was so funny! Here are some more: bakayaro (really nasty name), gaki (brat), and I think gaiju might be monster. I can't remember…X__X Oooh, thanx! I like to keep all the charas pretty much IC, but sometimes it's a little difficult…**

**BBHH/Helen Hsu – Eh…sorry about that.**** Like I said before, I'm trying to set them up for something later. Yami Bakura is going to be an active character from now on. And we will be seeing a lot more of the other characters. **

**Jellybob15 – Really?**** I'll have to check 'em out. Hope you like the chapter!**

**Yami**** Nikki – LOL!! Are those some of your friends? Or do you just have needs-to-be-punished-a-LOT muses like me? Aww, I hope you feel better soon! Sore throats are no fun at all! Umm, Weevil looking cute…O.O sorry, can't see it…Haven't seen the other two yet. **


	6. Friday does anybody read chapter titles?...

Jaid: Here's another chapter everyone! Thanks for all the lovely reviews! You all are so nice to me!! ^__^

Naga: You got more? Good skies, people! Are you fools trying to make her egotistic?

Jaid: *smacks him with frying pan* Be nice! They're just telling me how much they appreciate my work. 

Naga: Can I say how much I un-appreciate it?

Jad: Is that a word?

Naga: Nobody asked you. 

Jad: -__- Enjoy the chapter. Reviewer response down at the bottom. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            The next morning at school, Katya was in the office reserved for the yearbook staff, downloading some pictures. She and another girl would split the Valentine's day dance tomorrow, since they both had dates. 

            A knock on the door caused her to look up. Tristan stood there, grinning in the slightly goofy way he always did when she was around. 

            "Can I come in?" he asked. Katya nodded. 

            "Sure, these pictures are taking way too long anyway." She said. Tristan nodded and sat next to her on a chair. For a few minutes they talked about nothing of consequence, Tristan all the while seeming slightly fidgety. Finally, he took a small wrapped box out of his pocket. 

            "Uh, here." He said putting it on the counter. Katya looked at him in pleasant surprise. 

            "It's your gift, but I wanted to give it to you a day early." Tristan explained. 

            "Oh." Katya tore open the paper and opened the box. "Oh Trist!" 

            Tristan's grin was now full-blown. "You like it?" 

            "Yeah, duh! Come on, help me put it on." Katya handed the necklace to her and she pulled aside her thick, curly hair. Tristan bit the end of his tongue, his fingers clumsy with the tiny clasp. 

            "Can you get it?" Katya asked. 

            "I'm trying." Tristan said. 

            "Isn't this a pretty picture." Rei commented wryly as she entered. Tristan blushed and Katya grinned at her friend. 

            "You think so?" 

            Rei dumped a CD on the desk next to Katya. "Here; Ayame told me to give you this and ask if you could download it too." 

            "Sure." 

            Rei looked over to where Tristan was still fighting the necklace clasp. 

            "You want help?" she asked. Tristan sighed and relinquished his hold on the chain to Rei. A few seconds later, Katya was showing the pendant to her friend. 

            "Isn't it sweet of him?" she said, eyes bright. Rei hid a smile as Tristan's grin got bigger and goofier. 

            "Yes." She agreed. "I gotta go now. See ya lovebirds later and remember," she paused at the door and grinned mischievously, "No making out on school grounds." 

            "Rei!" moaned Katya. Rei left, laughing. As she walked down the hall, Rei shook her head. She was glad Katya was happy with Tristan and that Tara was happy with Duke. As for her, she didn't really need a boyfriend. Not now anyway. For the longest time, Rei had been The Tomboy and had never taken even a glancing interest in boyfriends. Most guys weren't aware of her existence anyways; she tended to fade in the background when girls like Tara were around. 

            "Oh, hello." 

            Rei was startled out of her thoughts by a British accented voice. Ryou stood there, smiling, but a troubled look in his brown eyes. 

            "Hi." Rei said cautiously. 

            "I think I have some explaining to do." Ryou said in a hushed voice. "Would you please meet me after school? I can explain, I promise." 

            Rei looked away, hugging her books to her chest tightly. "I guess. That would probably be good." She said softly. 'I promised to listen.' She looked at Ryou. "The little café down the street then." 

            He nodded as the bell rang and they both headed to class. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

            "You can't do that!"

            "Says who?" 

            "The rulebook said-" 

            "You can't even read it!" 

            "But Isis told me!!" 

            Shadi mentally sighed. He was trying to read a book while the Spirits were arguing over how to play a game Isis had taught them last night. Shadi wasn't sure what it was, but it involved money and that was all Scales had had to hear. 

            The reason they were indoors is because Scales started scaring people by swearing in Egyptian every time he fell. It hadn't helped that Ankh had caught the giggles again, so Shadi and Isis had finally marched out and ordered them both inside. 

            Isis was at the museum and privately, Shadi was glad. He was in love yes, but he wasn't sure of himself, of Isis or really of anything. He was beginning to get nervous around her; a feeling he hadn't experienced for ages. 

            In the living room, Scales growled at Ankh, who was stubbornly holding his position. 

            "It said so." he said.

            "You mean she said so." Scales shot back. Ankh, feeling rather childish, stuck his tongue out at the other spirit. Scales snorted and threw a little house at Ankh. It hit the healer on the nose. Ankh blinked, than threw a tiny metal shoe at Scales. It bounced off Scales' red turban. Making a face, Scales threw a handful of tiny houses at Ankh. The spirit ducked, but still got hit. He took a metal hat and threw it at Scales. Scales retaliated with a guy on a horse. Ankh was about to chuck the thimble at him, when Shadi cleared his throat. The two spirits looked up. Ankh looked slightly guilty, while Scales just looked bored. Or angry. He couldn't seem to make up his mind. 

            "Whatever the rules may be, I don't think this is how you play the game." Shadi reminded them quietly. 

            "Maybe not." Scales agreed, then gave a nasty grin. "But it's sure a whole lot more fun!" With that, he threw another house at Ankh. The healer gave a startled sort of noise, then threw the thimble at him. 

            "Stop it!" he said. 

            "Make me." Scales challenged. Shadi sighed, rolled his eyes and went back to the dining room. 

            "Hey, when are we leaving this dump anyways?!" Scales shouted from the living room. "We've been here almost a week as is!" 

            Shadi didn't answer him. He really didn't know the answer. Admittedly, this trip to Japan was the longest yet. Back in Egypt was his home and place. But…Isis wasn't there. As much as Shadi dreaded seeing her again, not seeing her at all would hurt far worse. 

            Shadi gave a slight groan and rested his head in his hands. 

            "Shadi?" Ankh appeared. "Are you okay?" 

            "Hm?" the turbaned man looked up. "Yes. I am fine." 

            Ankh looked down at him, not entirely convinced. "I thought I heard you groan." 

            "It was just some frustration." Shadi assured him. 

            "Oh okay." Ankh said, then left. Scales was randomly pushing buttons on the TV again. Ankh sat next to him, a meditative look on the healer's face. 

            "Hey, Scales?" 

            "What?" Scales said, poking the VCR. 

            "Do you think that Isis likes Shadi too?" 

            Scales gave Ankh a narrowed eyed look. "What is with you?" 

            "I just want them to be happy, that's all." Ankh said. "Will you help me?" 

            Scales snorted. "Yeah, I'll help." 

            "Thank you, Scales!" 

            "When the underworld freezes over and Osiris learns to ice skate." Scales finished, turning back to the amazing wonders of button pushing. Ankh sighed quietly in disappointment, trying to think up a plan. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

            "Hey, Wheeler!" 

            Joey turned as Duke walked up. 

            "So," the boy said. "I'm supposed to ask you how it's going." 

            "You're supposed too?" Joey asked. Duke nodded to Tara who stood a little ways away with some other girls. 

            "And you call me whipped." Joey remarked. Duke narrowed his eyes, but shook it off. Joey grinned. 

            "How is what going?" he asked. 

            "Tara is very interested in you and Mai." The boy sighed. "She'd make a happy matchmaking professional." 

            Joey grinned again. "Tell her we're just fine." 

            Duke nodded. "Will do. Hey, where are you headed? I think some of us are going to the arcade." 

            "Nah, I want to see my sister. Maybe I'll catch up." 

            "Okay! You can bring Mai if you want!" Duke called, walking back towards his girlfriend. Joey nodded and waved bye. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Rei cautiously exited the school, looking around for Ryou. 

            "Hey." he said softly from behind her. She jumped slightly and whirled around. 

            "Hi." she answered, smiling tentatively. "Let's go."

            Ryou nodded.

            During the entire walk, neither spoke. Rei didn't know what to say or do. It wasn't like they had had a real argument or anything. Ryou kept glancing at her, but she kept her eyes on the sidewalk and her face was impassive. His heart sank a little lower and so did his courage. 

            At the café, there was an uncomfortable silence as they both looked at their hot chocolate. Finally, Rei spoke. 

            "What did you want to say?" she asked.            

            "I was trying to tell you that day." Ryou fumbled slightly. "Before I switched I mean." 

            "Switched?" Rei asked. 

            Ryou nodded.

            Rei set down her cup a little hard. "I'm just slightly confused. One minute, you were a nice, quiet boy, then the next your some…I dunno…" she broke off, looking to him for answers. 

            Ryou's shoulders were slumped. "Yes, I do have sort of a dark side. But it's more than a personality switch. There's a lot to explain and a lot more I don't know. Even if I did, you might think I was just making it up." he sighed. 

"Ryou…"

"I don't know what happens when my other side comes out." Ryou broke her off.  "Sometimes he hurts people. If he hurt you…I…" he trailed off and shook his head. "I can't….I don't think I should come over anymore." There was a long silence.  

 "So, that's it then." Rei said softly. "You don't even want to be friends with me?" 

            "It's not that! It's…I just don't trust myself." 

            "It's okay." Rei smiled, but her voice was shaky. "I mean, it wasn't like we really knew each other or anything. And it's not as if we were going out." She stood and slung her backpack over her shoulder. "I'll see you around I guess. It was nice to meet you Ryou, even if it was just a little bit." She paused, trying to catch his eye, but Ryou kept his gaze on the table top. Hurt, Rei turned and silently left.

            Ryou didn't answer, just nodded, looking miserable. Rei walked quickly away, not looking back. Once she exited the restaurant, she broke into a run and ran all the way home. When she reached her grandparents' she opened the door and ran to her room. 

            "Rei, is that you?" her grandmother called. 

            "Yeah." 

            "Are you okay?"

            "Yeah, I'm just going to lie down for a little." 

            "All right." 

            Rei dropped her books and backpack on the easy chair in her room and climbed up onto her high bed. Unbidden, tears stung her eyes. That was why she had left so quickly; she had feared crying in a public place and in front of Ryou. Rei curled into a ball. 'What is wrong with me? He's just another guy.' she thought, but her heart told her that he wasn't just another guy. Ryou had been special. 

            Standing, Rei slipped off the bed and changed her clothes. "I'm going to the park." she called. Her grandmother nodded as she sewed in front of the TV. Rei stepped out and walked down the street. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

            "Serenity?" Joey said entering the room. The red-head looked up. 

            "Joey?"

            "Hi." Joey came in and sat down on the bed. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened. I shouldn't have yelled at you." 

            "It's okay." 

            "No, it ain't." Joey sighed. "Serenity, you're my little sister and I've always felt protective of you. I don't want anybody to hurt ya, you know? "           

            "I know that Joey." Serenity held out her hand and he took it. "You wouldn't be the brother I love if you didn't. But I'm growing up. I have to make my own decisions. You're not always going to be around, okay?" 

            "Yeah." Joey sighed. "He's still coming, isn't he?" 

            There was a long silence. 

            "Yeah." Serenity finally said. 

            Joey's lips pursed into a thin line. "He comin' today?" 

            "I think so." 

            Joey nodded. "Okay then." 

            "Thanks for understanding." Serenity whispered and squeezed his hand. He smiled wryly and squeezed it back. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Ryou walked home rather slowly. 'I guess she really didn't care.' he thought slowly. 'But she was right; it wasn't as if we had known each other.'

            He thought about the few times they had been alone to talk. They had clicked in a way Ryou had never clicked with someone before. Rei was a proud, strong person, but she did have a friendliness that made him relax. Enough to talk anyways. And it was more than that. They had almost…understood each other without speaking. Ryou kicked a stone in his path. He'd never met a girl like her. He probably never would.

            When he reached his apartment, he collapsed on the couch. The Ring glowed and his yami appeared, arms crossed. 

            "That," he declared. "was sad." 

            Ryou stared at him dully. "What do you mean?" 

            "What do you think I mean?" The tomb robber said. "I just thought that girl had more to her. But one thing like this and…" he didn't finish. 

            "It's not like that." Ryou said, sitting up. "Besides, if you hadn't-" 

            "Are you blaming me?" Bakura demanded. Ryou looked away and didn't answer. 

            "Huh, I'll take that for a yes." Bakura walked away, but paused at the door way. "You didn't even want to take a chance did you?" 

            "Take a chance?" Ryou stood. "With what? With her on the line? No! I know there is some good in you Yami, but…" 

            "You still don't trust me enough." Bakura smirked. "Maybe I under-estimated that girl. This is the most reaction I've ever had out of you." 

            Suddenly, Ryou's spirit felt exhausted, like his Yami had beaten him up. He looked at the spirit with bleary eyes and shook his head. "I won't risk it." he said softly. "I don't want her to get hurt." 

            Bakura snorted again. "You've already done that. Didn't you hear her voice at the café? No, you probably didn't. I shouldn't expect that much out of you I suppose." He turned away again, but a sudden thought crossed Ryou's mind. 

            "Yami? Are you trying to get me back together with Rei?" 

            The tomb robber looked disgusted. "No. Whatever gave you that idea? I just wanted to meet her again. Something in her eyes reminded me-" He broke off angrily, as if he had said too much and then he left. Ryou sat back down on the couch and thought hard, for a very long time. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Later that night, Tara knocked on Rei's door. 

            "Who is it?" the girl called. 

            "Tara. Come on, open up." 

            "Come in." 

            Tara opened the door. Rei was seated in the middle of her bed, facing one of the windows. Her back was to the door. 

            "Did he ask yet?" Tara asked excitedly, coming up to the bed and hopping on. 

            "No. I told you, boys and I don't mix well." 

            Tara blinked, then looked at her friend. "Have you been crying?" 

            Rei glared at her. "Does it look like it?" 

            Tara frowned. "Well excuse me for caring." She snapped.

            Rei sighed and passed a hand over her face. "He doesn't want to see me again." she said in a soft, but emotionless voice. 

            "You broke up?" 

            Rei laughed. "There was nothing to break up, okay Tara? Ryou and I weren't that way. We were just friends. And he doesn't want even that anymore." 

            "Oh." Tara was quiet. "Well, he's a lot dumber than he looks then." 

            Rei gave a thin smile. "Cut it out, Tara. That's not what you really think." 

            "Well…?" 

            "Well what?" Rei's smile faded. "It's not something I can share. It's personal, okay?" 

            Tara sighed. "Okay." She took her friend's hand. "Are you all right? I mean, you usually don't cry over stuff like this. You're so…tough." 

            Rei shrugged. "I don't know, Tara. I honestly don't know." 

            There was silence, then Tara slugged her arm. "Come on, I'm taking you out for ice cream." 

            "I can't. I'm on my diet and I already cheated today at the cafe." 

            "Then cheat again." 

            "I have to stay in shape for the track meets." 

            Tara rolled her eyes. "Geez, can't you do something wrong for once?" 

            "No." Rei smiled bitterly. 'I all ready did.' She added in her mind.

            "Please? I'll get you fat-free yogurt or something." Tara prodded. "It'll beat rice and chicken again for dinner." 

            Rei sighed. "Okay." She stopped. "How do you know what I eat for dinner?" 

            "You were complaining about it in the chatroom yesterday." Tara grinned happily. "And you'll still come to the dance?" 

            Rei rolled her brown eyes. "Yes, I'll still come to the dance. But no more setting me up, got it?" 

            "Okay." Tara said in a false innocent tone. Rei gave her a narrowed eyed stare, but didn't resist when Tara pulled her out the door. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

            "Oh." Seto looked up at the clock. "It's almost eight thirty." 

            "Really?" Serenity giggled. "Oh my gosh, you've been here since what? Four thirty?" 

            "Yeah." Seto looked down at the book. "Do you realize we've only reached chapter five?" 

            Serenity giggled again. "We aren't getting very far are we? I'm afraid we're more interested in each other than in poor Bilbo and the dwarves." 

            Seto smiled, but he caught the statement that Serenity had made in all innocence. More interested in each other. 'Yeah, that fit.' Seto thought. He was definitely more interested in the girl before him than in the fantasy story on his lap. 

            "I'd better get home." he said, standing. "Mokuba will be wondering." 

            "You should bring him some time." Serenity told him. "I'd like to meet him." 

            "He said he'd already met you." Seto said. "When he got me signed up for this." 

            "Oh, that was him?" Serenity asked. "He didn't say his name or anything. Well, I'd be glad to see him again. He seemed sweet." 

            "He is." Seto put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll see you later." 

            Serenity nodded, her face radiant. "Later." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            It was late Friday night. Ankh stood in indecision outside of Isis' room. 

            "What are you doing?" Scales demanded in a loud whisper. 

            "Sh!" Ankh admonished him. "I'm trying to put this in Isis' room. Shadi said he had changed his mind." 

            Scales stared at him blankly for a moment. "You're crazy." 

            "If you help me, I'll give you two of my chocolates." Ankh promised, stuttering a little over the foreign word. 

            "Six." Scales demanded. 

            "But that's all I have left! I'll give you two." 

            "Four." 

            "Three." 

            "Three and a half." 

            Ankh sighed. "All right." 

            Scales grinned. "So, what are we supposed to do?" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

**OVER FIFTY REVIEWS!!! I can't believe it! Thank you all so much!!!**

**Iris – They will, they will! Just not very soon. Yes, I am torturing you and them. BWAHAHAHA!!!!**

**Indigo – Glad you liked it! Um…I'm not sure which pieces they picked…Whatever they wanted I guess! I have a feeling Scales might have insisted upon a plastic house just to irritate ****Isis** tho. ****

**Amber – LOL! I can't believe that scene was just like you and Jon! How funny and sweet. He must be some guy. Got your e-mail. Lol, I'll send you back the next part ASAP. **

**ShadowDragon – Thanks! (Oh good, no more threats! ^__^)**

**SilverShadow – I'm honored that your honored that I'm honored. Lol, sounds like Monty Python! ^__^ Jeez, why are people always sicking their brothers on me? Like I don't have enough of them? O.O lol, just j/k**

**K-chan – Wow, you so totally made my day. I'm glad you like Rei and Tara! **

**Serena – Gosh, I don't know what to say. Thank you for your kind compliments.**

**Black Mistress – lol, thanks for the review. (How'd you get a hold of Yami? Know a way I can get a hold of Yugi?)**

**BBHH/Helen Hsu – Um, it's not explained just yet. Next chapter I think…**

**Jellybob15 – Oh…eh, sorry about that. I think it was supposed to be something, like, Tea knows Yugi has feelings for her without saying. **

**Naga: You think?**

**Give me a break! You're the one who gets me into these things!**

**Naga: Sure…blame the muse. **

**Anime*Angel*Fox – You do? *dances around happily* I'm so glad. My biggest fear with OC's is that people won't like them or I might make them Mary-Sueish. You're welcome for the insults and stuff. ^__^**

**DDW – It's a habit. I've done it with all my chaptered stories. I like it when authors talk to their reviewers, so that's why I do it. ^__^ Oh, that's okay. In fact, I just found out that Rei's actually a boy's name. Oops. X__X But it suits her, ne? To tell the truth,  I don't know what will happen with Ryou and Rei. We'll all just have to see.**

**Lynx wings – Really? *cries* Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!! **

**You people are all so nice to me!!! *cries in happiness***

**Naga: *holding up an umbrella* Great. She's in one of those moods now. **

**Jad: *soaked* Please remember to review. Jaid, you need to stop crying! The alternate dimension room is getting flooded!**


	7. Saturday part one: Preperations

Jaid: Hi guys! This is the second to last chapter and then there is the Epilogue. This was going to be the last chapter, but the dance part turned out being long enough for its own chapter, so I split them. 

Naga: Like they care! Just get on with it!

Jaid: -__- Enjoy the story guys. I have to go beat my muse. 

Naga: MUSE ABUSE! You'll be called up before the Council!

Jaid: In this case I think they'll sympathize. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

            Isis yawned and got up, just as the alarm went off. She shut if off and mentally considered getting another one. She hated the way this one sounded. Getting out of bed, she walked over to her vanity to pick up a hair brush, when an envelope caught her attention. Frowning, she picked up the card and opened it. Inside was an elegant white card and inside that, was a poem. Isis blushed when she saw the short thank-you statement from Shadi and his signature. Isis placed the valentine on the table and just sat there for a moment, a soft smile upon her lips. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Shadi woke up to the sound of the spirits quarreling in the living room. Again. Shaking his head, he got up. It would be best to separate them before Isis woke up. 

            Too late. He heard her voice in the room. Shrugging, he opened the door and was about to step out, when he saw an envelope in front of his door. 

            'What the…?' He picked it up and closed the door after himself, then sat on the bed and opened it. 

            Inside was a red and gold card, with a simple love poem. At the end, it said "Welcome for everything. Isis". Shadi could only read a few words from the poem, but looking at the heart motif on the front, he was sure of the meaning. Standing, he debated whether he should give Isis his card. 

            Then his brain kicked in and he re-read Isis' note. He scowled. Either she had known about this or….

            Shadi opened his door. "Ankh!" he called. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "Stay still." Mai directed. Tea sighed. 

            "I think that we have plenty of time. The dance isn't until this evening." 

            "I know." Mai critically looked at the pale blue gown Tea was wearing. "But I want to make sure we get the right hair style." 

            Tara giggled from her place on Tea's bed as the red-head sighed again. Katya was on her cell-phone. Talking to Tristan of course. 

            "Are you going to do all our hair?" Tara asked. Mai looked over at the blonde. 

            "Sure." she grinned. "It'll be fun." 

            There was a knock on the door and it opened, revealing Rei. "Dare I enter the harem?" she asked, somewhat sarcastically. 

            "Ha, ha." Tara said, chucking a pillow at her as Mai chuckled and Tea rolled her eyes.  Katya grinned and waved as the dark-haired girl came in. 

            "I brought some hair stuff and make-up for you guys to have fun with. I'm going off to practice track and then I've got some extra credit assignments to do." she said, dumping a bag on the bed. 

            "Oh brother." Tara hopped up and grabbed her friend. "Katya, get off the phone and help me tie down Rei before she kills herself from over-working." 

            "Tara…" Rei said in a warning voice. 

            "You haven't met Mai, have you?" Tara said in a bright tone, dragging her to where Tea and Mai stood. "Mai, this is Rei Yukimona. Rei, this is Mai Valentine." 

            "Nice to meet you." Mai said coolly. 

            "Likewise." Rei said in the same tone. "I'm going now. Bye! I'll see you this afternoon!" 

            Tara sighed. "That girl has issues." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "Okay, you got it?" Duke was saying. Joey looked at him. 

            "Well, you only repeated it a hundred times." he commented sarcastically. 

            "Have to get it through this thick skull of yours." Duke said, tapping Joey on the head. Yugi giggled. 

            He and the other boys were in the Turtle Game Shop. Yugi was seated behind the counter while the other boys were scattered around the shop. Ryou stood apart, looking out the window wistfully. 

            "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Tristan asked teasingly. "I mean, we all now how prone to accidents Joey is." 

            "It ain't like I'm driving." Joey commented, then paused. "I ain't, am I?" 

            "No." Duke said. "You are not." 

            "Oh good." Joey blew out a relieved breath. "How much do I owe you?" 

            "We'll discuss that later." Duke said. "I've got some things to get done."

             "Well, I'm off!" Joey stood. 

            "To see Serenity?" Tristan asked. 

            "Yeah." 

            "Tell her hi!" Yugi told him. 

            "Will do." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "What is this?" Scales asked, poking at his breakfast. 

            "It's just something I learned to make. You'll like it; it has chocolate." Isis told him. Ankh sat down at the table, looking rather embarrassed. Isis smiled at him and handed him a plate. 

            "Where's Shadi?" 

            "He's coming." Ankh said. 

            A few minutes later, Shadi did appear. Breakfast was rather silent. Even Scales and Ankh didn't speak. 

            "So." Isis said. "I have the day off. Is there anything you guys would like to do?" 

            No answer. Isis blinked. This was getting a little freaky. 

            "Scales?" she asked. He glared at her. 

            "Ankh?" 

            The healer shook his head. 

            "Shadi?" 

            "Hm?" The man blinked his ice blue eyes. "No, whatever you plan is fine." 

            "I'd rather stay home." Ankh said quickly, staring hard at Scales. The other spirit stared back. Ankh kicked his shin under the table. Scales scowled even harder. 

            "Me too." he muttered, thinking 'This had better be good chocolate.' 

            "Okay, then." Isis said. "We'll just stay home I guess." 

            Shadi nodded in agreement. Ankh felt panic coming on. 

            "Just because we're staying doesn't mean you two have too." he said. The two Item holders turned their gaze on the green-haired man. Ankh grinned innocently. Isis suddenly looked down at her chocolate chip pancakes, fearing she might burst into laughter. Shadi did the same, but they both made the mistake of looking up at the same time and catching one another's eyes. 

            "I think that would be okay." Isis said, trying to swallow her laughter. Shadi was chuckling. 

            "Okay then." Ankh gave a more believable smile and relaxed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "Sis?" 

            "Joey!" The girl cried happily. Joey came over.  

            "Here. I got ya some Valentine candy. Figured it wouldn't hurt." he put a small heart shaped candy box in her hand.

            "Oh Joey!" Serenity laughed. "Thanks." She held out her arms. Joey hugged her, then sat back down. 

            "You want some?" she asked, blindly opening it. 

            "Me? Refuse food? What'd ya, nuts?" Joey said and grinned as his sister laughed again. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "I just have some things to drop off at the museum and do some shopping. After that, I don't know. You want to go to the park? You haven't been there yet." Isis said as she and Shadi walked. 

            "All right." he said. 

            Above, Ankh and Scales watched them walk away through the window. As soon as they were out of sight, Scales turned to his fellow spirit. "Hand over the candy."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            It was late Saturday afternoon. Most of the girls were in the school auditorium, fixing up for the dance. Mai had come along because she had nothing better to do. Rei showed up a little later, still in her black jogging sweats. 

            "You and black." Tara said as they hung a banner. "Don't you ever were anything else?"           

            "Hey, you like puke green, I like black." Rei said. 

            "This isn't puke green." Tara said, referring to her turtle neck. "It's lime green." 

            "Whatever." Rei rolled her brown eyes. "Same difference." 

            "Tara, where are we putting the photo backdrop?" Katya called. "Ayame and I have to set up the cameras!" 

            "In the back, behind the tables." Tara called back. "But don't put them in front of the door." 

            Katya gave her a look that said, 'Duh-I-know-that.' and went off. 

            "Dare I come in?" Duke asked, sticking his head in the door. Katya grinned at him. 

            "Sure. We can always use a few young men around to help." 

            Duke grinned back. "Okay." He entered, Yugi and Tristan behind him. Tristan's face instantly got a goofy grin and he waved at Katya as he passed. She blew him a kiss and his grin got goofier. 

            "Hey, hon." Duke wrapped his arms around Tara as she got down from the ladder. 

            "Hey back." she grinned and they kissed. Rei made a face at Yugi and he laughed quietly behind his hand. 

            "So what do we do?" Duke asked. 

            "Anything you can think of." Tara answered. Duke's grin got mischievous. 

            "Really?" 

            "On second thought, I'll supervise you. Tristan, help Rei tack up the second banner. Yugi, go find Mai and Tea. They can order you around." Tara said, dragging Duke away. 

            Yugi chuckled, then went in search of the two other girls. He found them in a small room that was going to be used for storage of the food and drinks. Mai looked up and saw him first. Glancing at Tea, who was concentrating on something else, she grinned. 

            "Hey, Yugi!" she called. "Tea and I are behind the table here." 

            "Oh." The boy walked around then smiled down at them. "Hi." 

            Mai smiled. "Hi back." She grinned as Tea's cheeks went slightly red, as did Yugi's as they waved shyly to each other. 

            "So did you get a nice date for the dance?" Mai went on. 

            "Mai." Tea whispered in a slightly annoyed tone. Mai ignored her. 

            "Uh, yeah." Yugi said. "I'm supposed to help you guys in here." 

            "Great." Tea stood, relieved to have a different subject on the table. "Can you bring the boxes of soda in here? I think they're just outside." 

            "Okay." Yugi agreed, walking out. Tea blew out a breath. Mai chuckled at the other girl's nervousness. Then an evil look came into her eyes. 

            "Hey Tea." she said in a low tone. "Better make sure he has some condoms." 

            "WHAT?!" Tea jumped and stared at her friend in surprise. Mai burst into laughter at Tea's red face. Tea went even redder as she saw Yugi standing there, and the look on her face made Mai almost double over. 

            'Oh god, tell me he didn't hear that.' Tea prayed. 

            Yugi set down a box of Pepsi, smiling the way people do when they know they've missed a joke and then went out for more. Mai left the room, still laughing, to ask Tara where to put the snack tables. Tea mentally groaned and hoped the afternoon would go quickly. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Shadi and Isis were walking again. They had just finished a late lunch and then done some household shopping. Though somewhat apprehensive about his feelings, Shadi had enjoyed Isis' company. 

            As for Isis, she too had enjoyed the afternoon, but…she didn't know how to broach the subject of the cards. She stole a glance at her companion, but his face was, as always, hard to read. 

            "I guess we should head home." she finally said. "When do you plan on leaving Japan?" 

            Shadi looked at her. "I am not sure." he admitted. "Japan has been more pleasant than I expected." 

            "That's nice." Isis said, not quite sure what he meant by that statement. "You want to sit for a minute?" 

            They both sat down in front of a fountain. For a while, there was silence, as they watched people go by. Finally, Isis plucked up some courage and spoke. 

            "Shadi, I found a card on my desk this morning." she began. "It was signed by you." 

            "Yes." Shadi nodded. It was the card he had signed earlier. Ankh had taken it out of his room last night. 

            Isis bit her tongue. Just yes? That probably wasn't a good sign. She burst in to speech, speaking quickly. "Look, I don't know what you've been thinking over the past few days, but I am frankly very confused. Bewildered is really the term I am looking for I guess. I just…" she paused. Shadi was staring at her. He had never seen her burst out like that before. 

            "I just want to know what's going on." she finished quietly. 

            "What's going on." Shadi repeated, more to himself than to her. "I don't know either." 

            Isis shoulder's slumped forward a little. "I see. So…" 

            "Maybe we should talk somewhere else." Shadi commented, looking at the crowds of people. 

            "We could go back to the park. Not many people hang around the wooded area." Isis suggested. Shadi nodded. 

            "Let's go then." she said standing. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                Seto entered the hospital room, then quietly back-pedaled. Joey was there. Seto decided that he didn't really want Serenity upset, so was about to turn and go when Joey caught sight of him and frowned. Seto settled for a level stare. Joey turned to Serenity and said good-bye, then left, closing the door. The two of them stared at each other for a while. 

            "Look," Joey said heatedly. "That's my sister you're dealing with. I don't care if you're stronger, richer or a better duelist than me. If you hurt her, I'll kill you, got that?" 

            Seto almost smiled. He couldn't help it; the situation was almost ridiculous. 

            "Yeah." he answered simply. Joey blinked, as if that hadn't been the answer he expected. But he stepped back and walked down the hall way, leaving Seto standing in front of Serenity's hospital door. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "So." Isis said. She and Shadi were standing under some trees, shopping bags near-by. 

            Shadi nodded. Neither knew what to say or how to say it even if they knew. Isis started drawing in the snow with her foot. Time passed with an agonizing slowness as the two of them struggled for something to say. 

            "You said you liked Japan now." Isis said, more to break the silence then anything else. "Why the sudden change? Don't you miss Egypt?" 

            Shadi turned his full gaze on her. 'Do I tell her? Can I?'

 "Of course I miss Egypt. It is my home, the place where I feel I really belong." He said, keeping his eyes steadily on her. "But this place has a claim on my heart that Egypt does not." 

Isis looked at her, her cheeks going slightly red and her dark blue eyes going slightly wide. There was a questioning look in her eyes, as if she didn't quite understand or maybe she did and was afraid of what it meant. 

Shadi turned towards her and stepped closer. Isis didn't move, but looked up into his ice blue eyes. 

"Really?" she asked in a whisper. "I can't imagine what." 

"You're not making this easy." Shadi replied, also in a whisper. Isis only smiled as he brought a hand up to her cheek. 

This was it; nobody was here on a cold Saturday afternoon. Shadi bent his head down and Isis raised hers to his. Their lips met. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Ryou was reluctantly walking towards Rei's home. 'What if she really didn't care? I mean, we didn't even know each other that long. I'm just making a fool of myself. But what if she would…? Can I take that chance? She's so strong, maybe she can take care of herself.' 

            Groaning, Ryou stopped and leaned against a wall. 'I can't do this.' 

            A voice inside his head (that sounded suspiciously like his Yami) said, 'You're just being a coward.' 

            'All right, I am. But-' 

            The Ring glowed and Yami Bakura appeared. He glared at his hikari. 

            "Are you going to go see her or do I have to drag you?" he demanded. Ryou gulped at his tone of voice. 

            "I just, I…" 

            Yami Bakura growled and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him. "Listen to yourself! You're so weak and timid it makes me sick!" 

            Ryou didn't answer, he just hung his head. With a growl of frustration, Yami Bakura shoved him away. 

            "If you're such a coward, then you really don't deserve her." 

            Ryou looked up. "Why do you talk as if you know her? You've only known Rei as long as I have." 

            Yami Bakura snorted. "I wasn't always a spirit, fool." He turned away and said, so low that Ryou almost missed it, "I wasn't always a tomb robber either." 

            There was a silence as Ryou stared at his Yami with wide eyes. "You…?" 

            "What?" Yami Bakura turned to face him. "Didn't think that any woman would ever love someone like me?" 

            Ryou blushed. "N-n-no, that's not what I meant…it's just that…"

            "Her name was Bener. She was…very different. Strong-willed and stubborn. Beautiful, but as untouchable for me as Phaoroah's crown would be." Yami Bakura murmured, almost talking to himself as if he forgot that Ryou was there. "But she knew me…I think she might have loved me. Her eyes…they used to shine gold in the sun." His fist clenched. "But of course, I was only a second son. Her father married her off to a man twice her age and much wealthier than I could ever hope to be. The last time I saw her alive, she was going away…the next time I saw her, she was dead." His fists clenched even tighter, so tight that blood started dripping where he shoved his nails into his skin. "Her husband killed her they told me. They got into a fight and he hit her and she didn't get back up. I should have taken her, ran away. I could have, but I was weak and afraid." Yami Bakura spat the words out. 

            Ryou was blinking back tears and reached out his hand to his Yami's shoulder. The spirit flinched away from his touch and then disappeared back into the Ring, leaving Ryou standing there alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "Seto, can you stop for a moment?" 

            The blue-eyed boy looked up. Serenity fumbled for the handle to the drawer next to her. Finally opening it, her delicate fingers searched for something. Pulling out a card, she handed it to him with a shy smile. 

            "Happy Valentine's Day." 

            Seto took it, feeling a little awkward. He had forgotten that there was a holiday today; not that he ever kept it in the first place. He looked down at the card, made of construction paper. 

            "A little boy here; Kento, helped me make it." Serenity said. "I know it's not very nice, but-" 

            "It's fine." Seto cut in. "its fine." There was a pause. 

            "I'm sorry." Seto finally said, feeling slightly guilty. "I didn't get you anything; I don't usually keep this holiday and I guess it slipped my mind what day it was." 

            "Oh, that's okay!" Serenity said cheerfully. "I'm just glad you like it." 

            Seto nodded. "Thank you." He put the card in his ever-present briefcase. 

            "You wanna take a break?" Serenity asked. "Joey brought me some chocolates; you want one?" 

            "Sure." Seto said, closing the book and letting out one of his rare smiles. Serenity handed him the box. 

            Seto looked at her. He had never really met a girl like her. Was it too soon for him to make a move?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Isis and Shadi pulled apart, both breathing heavily. For a moment, they just stared at one another. 

            "Well," Shadi finally said. "That was new." 

            Isis looked at him and then laughed. "Yeah, I guess it was." She grinned at him. "But I wouldn't mind trying it again." 

            "If you insist." Shadi said, leaning in. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "Well, it looks great." Rei said as she and the other teenagers looked at their handiwork. 

            "Yep." Tara sighed and leaned into Duke's arms a little more. "Tonight should be a blast." 

            "So," said one of the other girls. "See you all later?" 

            "Come on." Mai hooked arms with Tea and Katya. "We really need to get you girls ready for your hot dates." 

            Katya giggled while Tea blushed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Ryou had walked to Rei's house, only to have her grandmother tell him that she wasn't there. He was walking home now. 

            'I could always call her.' He thought doubtfully. To be truthful, his mind was not completely on Rei, but on what his yami had told him earlier. 

            'Maybe that's why he's always so mean to me.' Ryou thought. 'He doesn't want me to be weak like he thought he was. In his own way, it's how he cares.' He sighed. "But it doesn't help me with Rei." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Hello my Reviewers! *Gives you all a big hug* I love you all! *cries* **

**Naga: Don't start that again! **

**I'll cry if I want to.  Anyways, thanks for all the kind words. Again. **

**Dr. Vorlon – I'm going, I'm going!!!!**

**Amberliz – Isn't he though? I wouldn't mind him for a boy friend, lol. **

**K-chan – Thanks. ^__^ I do too, incidentally. Part of my motivation I guess. Oh good! ^__^ **

**Jellybob15 – Yeah, I thought it was something he'd do. Joey reminds me a lot of my own brother and we actually went through a similar experience a few years ago. Hope you liked this chapter!**

**Indigo – I used too do that too, but now it takes too much brain work, lol. Ooh, yeah, a red hotel. Definitely him. 'Ha! I have a bigger house than you!' lol. Hey, am I do Ankh okay? I tend to want to make him more argumentative than he probably really is…*sweatdrop*.  Well, Bakura doesn't yell at Rei. He may later tho. He yells at pretty much everybody tho, doesn't he? Really? Oh, okay. I knew I heard it somewhere in connection with a female. Hope your story is going well!**

**Iris – I know! It's scary! She's an older version of you! Aw, but Iris, don't you know I just love to torture you? **

**Naga: She can use that against you with Anhai you know. **

**Sh! Don't give her ideas idiot!**

**Yami Nikki – lol, you're crazy. Must be why I like your reviews so much! So that's a shout-out from one crazy person to another…yeah. Oh Hello Nicholas, Surin, Rioko and Sakura. Hola y buenos dias Dominic y Shataro! (Did I get that right? It's been awhile since Spanish…). Lol, yes but do you know who's better than Merry and Pippin? LEGOLAS! AND SAM!!! THEY RULE! Okay, don't mind me; I'm just a crazy fan girl. ^__^' **

**Black Mistress – Really? I'll have to try that. ^__^ Does it work with other characters too? **

**ShadowDragon - ^_____________^ **

**SilverShadow – Um, okay. I've updated! See, SEE!! Heh, heh, don't mind me. No need for violence…lol. **

**DDW – lol! Yes, chocolate is excellent bribery. Oooh! You like my chapter titles! Thank you!**

**TK – Yes, they do rock! Glad you like. **

**Netta1029 – Thanks. Hope you enjoy. **

**SweetSweet – Hi! Long time no see. Glad you liked it! **

**FirePendant – Maybe I will someday. But not recently. Yami? Yami's paired with me, HA! **

**Yami: What!? **

**Just kidding, lol, Black Mistress already has one. Uh speaking of which, you'd better take him back Black Mistress, because I think I gave him a heart attack…**

**Steeple333 – Glad you liked! Really? That's the first time someone's said that to me. ^__^ **

**Serena – I know; he is isn't he? I think they are just so perfect for each other. *sighs* Oh, I'm with you there! Lol, they are both cuties! If you liked them here, you should check out Indigo's story "Three in One Combo" which is where these characters were created. It's a good one. ^__^ **

**Lynx wings – Well, if you've read the chapter, you know what Bakura was talking about now. I'm doing my best with Seto and Serenity! Really! **


	8. Saturday part two: The Dance

Jaid: Hi everyone! Well, yes, sadly, this is the last chapter. After this is the Epilogue and then Aishiteru is finished. It's very sad, but yet, I am satisfied with my work and the response it has gotten. Thank you all! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``

            So the countdown began. In the final hours before the dance, the girls dressed and primped in front of the mirror, waiting for their dates to pick them up. The guys also dressed and primped a little, though they never would have admitted it. Set couples looked forward to a romantic night together, while new couples felt a jittery nervousness that was pleasant but still un-nerving. 

            Rei stood in front of the mirror, in a chiffon Burgundy gown that was spaghetti strapped and tied around her waist with a thick black velvet sash. She also wore black silk arm-length gloves.

            She had taken her hair and twisted it up with a comb, with some still falling out. Two strands were curled and framed her face. She was wearing light make-up; something she usually didn't do (except for her ever-present purple eye shadow) and wore some simple silver jewelry and black high-heeled sandals. 

            Taking a deep breath, she looked at herself again. 'I'm going to have fun, I'm going to have fun.' She mentally repeated, like a mantra. 'I'm going to have fun because if I don't then Tara will kill me.' 

            Picking up her purse and her black trench coat she headed outside. 

            "I'm leaving!" she called. 

            "Don't you want a ride?" her grandfather asked. 

            "Nah, the school isn't far. I'll walk." Rei called and closed the door. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "Another car!" Tara called. 

            "Who is it?" Katya asked excitedly. 

            "Tristan." Tara grinned at her friend who waved good bye and ran down the stairs. Katya was wearing an emerald green dress that was ankle-length (with a slit up one side) and sleeveless. It had a V-neck. Her curly hair was in a half ponytail and she had black heels. She wore gold bangle bracelets, hoops and the necklace that Tristan had bought her. Going down the stairs, she met him at the front door and hugged him enthusiastically. 

            "She was sure excited." Tara commented wryly. Her own dress was a brilliant red and bared one shoulder. She was seated carefully on Tea's bed as Mai fiddled with the red-head's hair. 

            "If only it was a little longer." Mai sighed. Tea frowned. Tara grinned at her friend. Tea's pale blue dress was made of a light materiel and fluttered with the slightest movement. It reminded her of a fairy dress. Mai was still in her normal clothes, but a lavender evening gown was hanging on Tea's closet door. 

            "There." Mai said after some moments of silence. She'd taken the top half of Tea's hair and made a little twist around a tiara Tara had insisted Tea buy, with some of it hanging down and curled. Some curled strands framed Tea's face and the rest hung down. Mai curled this too. 

            "Your turn Tara." Tea said, walking carefully to where her shoes were. 

            "You look like a fairy princess." Tara told her gleefully. Tea rolled her eyes, not sure whether she should laugh or not at the blonde's tone. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "Big Brother!" Mokuba ran into Seto's arms. "Are you surprised? James drove me here when I asked him." 

            Seto looked over at the young chauffeur, who tipped his hat respectfully and then left the room. Mokuba had all ready bounced out of Seto's arms over to Serenity. 

            "Hi! Remember me?" he asked. 

            "Yeah, I do." Serenity said, grinning. 

            "My brother's really neat huh? I told you!" 

            "Mokuba." Seto said in a quiet tone. 

            "Yes, he is." Serenity put in. Seto felt his cheeks warm a little. Mokuba matched Serenity's grin. 

            "Can I go to the cafeteria? They've got ice cream down there!" the little boy was hopping around. "We had a Valentine's Day party this morning at school. We were gonna have it yesterday, but then we decided it would be more fun today and I got lots of candy. Did you know that Rebecca Hawkins girl is going to our school now? Yeah, and she even brought her teddy. He looked real funny 'cause she tried to dye him pink for the day, but it didn't work, so he had all these big pink splotches." 

            "I hope you didn't laugh at her, Mokuba." Serenity said, with a slight disapproving tone. 

            Mokuba's face went red. "Only a little." He muttered. "Anyways, I said I would help her fix it." 

            "That was very sweet of you." 

            "Yeah." Seto finally found his voice. Mokuba's sugar highs always caught him a little off guard and then Serenity talking to him as if she were his…sister or mother was a little un-nerving, even though it felt right. 

            "Take James to the cafeteria with you!" Seto called as Mokuba ran out. 

            "Yes, Big Brother!" 

            Serenity giggled as the door shut. "He's so cute." 

            "Yeah." Seto agreed. "Oh blast it, we lost our place again." 

            "Why don't we give up for tonight?" Serenity said. "Don't you have a school dance?" 

            "How did-" 

            "Joey." Serenity said. Seto nodded, then remember she couldn't see. 

            "I'm not going."

            "Why not?" 

            "I don't have anybody to go with." He said then paused before speaking again. "Would you go with me if you didn't have to stay here?" 

            Serenity blushed. "Would you have asked?" she said softly. 

            "No, I probably would not have." Seto admitted. "Not if we met at school. But…" he bit his tongue. 

            "But what?" Serenity raised her head. 

            "When you get out of the hospital, would you do me the honor of going on a date with me?" 

            "Oh." Serenity's mouth formed a perfect "O" and her cheeks went even pinker. "Sure, I mean, yes, I would, Seto. That-I would like that very much." She giggled. 

            "What?" 

            "That statement. 'Would you do me the honor'. I felt as if I were in a Jane Austen novel being proposed too." Serenity's giggles were now full-blown laughter. Seto had to chuckle. Her laugh was so contagious and the statement had been rather pompous sounding. Serenity held out her hand and Seto took it. 

            "I'm really glad I met you." She said softly. 

            "I am too." Seto answered. "I am too." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

            Yugi sighed as his grandfather drove them to Tea's house. He had borrowed the car from a lady friend Yugi had no idea existed. Gramps looked over at the small boy and chuckled. Yugi stared. 

            "What?" 

            "Nothing." The old man said. Yugi narrowed his eyes as the man chuckled again. Gramps noticed the stare and snorted. 

            "Don't give me that look, boy." He stated. "I'm very proud that you're finally growing up. And that you finally got the guts to ask that girl out." He grinned. "Nervous?" 

            "No." Yugi said defensively. Gramps raised an eyebrow. 

            "Maybe a little." The boy admitted softly. 

            "Don't worry. When I took your grandmother out for her first date, I was nervous as hell. Couldn't even talk straight." Gramps looked at his grandson briefly and smiled. "Don't worry, you'll do fine." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "Isn't it great?" Tara squealed in happiness. Duke, Tea and Yugi sweatdropped. 

            "Did you even think to ask how much she had today?" Tea muttered. Duke shook his head. 

            "Only six cups and they were spread out. For pity's sake!" Tara put her hands on her hips. Long blonde curls spilled out of her tiara to frame her face as she stared angrily at them. Tea glared back, Yugi smiled nervously, while Duke put his arm around her waist 

            "Come on, hon." He said. "I've got the prettiest girl in the room with me and I want to dance with her." 

            Tara's anger melted. "Aww, that's so sweet." She said as they went towards the dance floor. Yugi and Tea looked at each other and burst in to laughter. 

            "If I ever start talking like that, shoot me." Tea said, collapsing into a seat. Yugi sat down next to her. 

            "Yami says he'll shoot us both if we ever get sappy." He giggled. There was a silence. 

            "You don't know how to dance, do you?" Tea asked. Yugi's smile faded and he shook his head. 

            "Its okay, most guys don't. Come on, I'll teach you." She stood at held out a hand. Yugi's smile returned and he took it as they headed for the floor. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

            "They're back!" Ankh called. Scales joined him at the window. 

            "By Ra." He muttered. 

            "They're holding hands!" Ankh started dancing around. Scales grabbed the nearest thing (a couch pillow) and chucked it at him. 

            "Quit it you fool!!!" he shouted. Ankh picked up his hat, which had been knocked down and threw the pillow back at Scales. 

            "That wasn't very nice." He said. 

            "Like I care." Scales growled. He didn't throw the pillow this time but came after Ankh, swinging. The healer gave a surprised noise, and grabbed the other pillow to fend off Scales. 

            Isis and Shadi walked in to a full blown pillow fight. They exchanged glances, and sighed. 

            "Do we leave?" she asked. 

            "Your groceries…" 

            "Are all non-perishable." Isis dropped the bags and grabbed his hand. "Let's just go." 

            Shadi nodded and they retreated, leaving the pillow fighting spirits. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Rei smiled at the young man who she was dancing with. It was a tentative smile; Ichuro was the captain of the track team. 

            "I'm surprise you didn't have a date." He said. "Or did you just beat all the guys off?" 

            She looked up into his teasing green eyes. "That's not funny." She said, but smiled anyway. "Thanks for dancing with me." 

            "Ayame hated seeing you standing by yourself." He said. "So did I incidentally, but I think Muriko is not too happy." Ichuro nodded to his girlfriend. Rei grinned. 

            "So your sister and I are getting you into trouble, eh?" 

            Ichuro laughed. "Something like that." 

            Ryou had just entered uneasily. He looked around. Rei had to be here; her grandmother said that she had dressed and left the house. 'I have to find her.' He thought. In the crowd, he saw her…dancing with someone else and laughing. He swallowed hard. 'I'm too late.'

            The dance ended and Ichuro and Rei headed for the punch bowl. Duke and Tara were all ready there. 

            "Thanks for the dance." Ichuro grinned. "But I'd better find Muriko." She nodded. 

            "Thanks." She said softly. Ichuro waved bye as he headed to his girl.

            "Rei!" Tara hissed. "Ryou's here." 

            "What? Where?" Rei asked. 

            "He just walked out." Duke said, handing a glass to Tara. The blonde's green eyes widened. 

            "Oh no! He must have seen you with Ichuro and gotten the wrong idea!" she gasped. "You have to go talk to him." 

            "About what?" Rei said stubbornly. "He all ready made it clear he doesn't want to be around me again." 

            "You're being stupid!" Tara said, all but shouting and very tempted to smack some sense into her friend. 

            "He looked rather heart broken." Duke put in, trying to keep Tara calm. Rei was quiet, then simply turned and walked away. Tara sighed in desperation. 

            "I don't understand her." She said angrily. "I just don't."  
            Duke pulled her into his arms, feeling how straight and stiff she was. "Hey, you know how Rei is. She has to do things her own way." 

            "But…but they're both being stupid!" Tara wailed into his shoulder. Duke couldn't help but smile. 

            "Hey, T, they both have that right, okay?" he reminded her softly. "You can't fix everything. This one just has to work out by itself." 

            Tara sighed and relaxed. "You're right." 

            "About time you admitted it." Duke grinned. Tara doffed him on the head and he laughed. 

            "Now come on. I was serious about being with the prettiest girl in the room and I want her to be happy with me tonight." 

            Tara smiled. "Okay, okay. Let's go have fun." 

            "That's my girl." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~```

            "Come on." Joey tugged on Mai's hand. 

            "Where are we going?" she asked, as she put on her coat. 

            "I had something special planned."

            "Besides the dance?" Mai asked, excitement rising a little in her voice. 

            "Yeah." Joey grinned. Man, he really owed Duke for this one. Outside, there was a limo waiting. 

            "No way." Mai looked at him. Joey's grin got wider. 

            "What are you waiting for?" he opened the door. "Get in." 

            "Joey, I…" she laughed. "Where are we going?" 

            "Anywhere you want." He said soberly. Mai just looked at him for a while. 

            "We could go down near the beach." She said softly. "It'll be cold, but if we're there late enough, they say the sun rise is to die for." 

            "Sounds good to me." Joey said. "As long as I'm with you." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~```

            Ryou was walking away from the school, when he turned back and saw her. Rei stood at the top of the steps, the moonlight making her seem pale. Pale and beautiful. For a few moments, they both just stared, then Rei came down the steps towards him. 

            "Hi." She said quietly. 

            "Hello." He answered. There was a silence. 

            "Rei." 

            "Ryou." 

            They both had spoken at the same time. Both smiled slightly. 

            "You don't have a date." She said softly. 

            "No. The girl I wanted to ask…" Ryou trailed off. 

            "I don't have one either. I came because Tara wanted me to be here." Rei said directly. Ryou looked up. She was surprised by the look in his eyes. He seemed so sad. 

            "I'm sorry, Rei." He said in a whisper. "I should have told you that I…I shouldn't have tried to drive you away."

            "I'm sorry too." She said. "I should have…done something." 

            "Like what?" 

            "I don't know!" Rei shrugged. Ryou smiled in his sweet way he did when he was genuine. Rei couldn't help but smile back. 

            "Maybe we should start over." She said quietly and held out a hand. "Hi. My name's Rei Yukimona. You go to my school." 

            "Pleased meet you Rei. I'm Ryou Bakura." He took it. "You're trembling!" For the first time, Ryou noticed the spaghetti strapped gown. "Goodness gracious." He took off his jacket and put on her shoulders. "You must be freezing." 

            "Yeah." Rei looked down ruefully. "That was stupid of me." 

            They both looked at the school. 

            "Do we have to go in?" Ryou murmured. 

            "You can hear the music out here." Rei said softly. Ryou looked at her and smiled again. He held out a hand and Rei took it. Slowly, they began to dance. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

_There is something that I see_

_In the way you look at me_

_There's a smile there_

_That returns in your eyes_

_What an unexpected way_

_On this unexpected day_

_Could it be that this is where I belong?_

_It is you I have loved all along_

_There's no one else for me _

_It is finally clear to me_

_You're the home I've searched _

_For so long_

_It is you I have loved all along_

_Happy Valentine's Day. _

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Is everyone WAFFed out yet? Lol. Welp, there it is! The dance. The Epilogue should be up soon. I hope everyone likes it…**

**Black Mistress – Oh goody! I can get any character I want now! YIPPEEE!!**

**ShadowDragon – Um, yes, actually I am. You'll learn more in the Epilogue. **

**SilverShadow – Really? I don't recognize that song. Can I download it somewhere? **

**Indigo - ^__^ Thank you! Lol, I know. Even though I was writing the thing I couldn't help but think, 'Kiss her all ready!!!' throughout the whole thing. Oh good! Whew…LOL! Yes, Bakura's definition of 'talking' is definitely different…**

**K-chan – Hope you like this chappy too! ^__^**

**Jellybob15 – lol, be careful! I was actually thinking about cutting that out, but Mai would tease Tea like that so I kept it. You're right; it's something you'd probably never hear except in my twisted imagination. *evil grin* **

**Dr. Vorlon – lol, yeah, not something you hear in every fic. ^__^ **

**Iris – O.O GOOD GOD SHE'S LOOSE!!! SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING!!! Lol, just j/k. I can't get on MSN because it's being crappy right now. So you're going to have to e-mail me. (What's wrong with Anhai? Oh wait…don't tell me she can't be paired with Hworang!!! *cries*)**

**Anime*Angel*Fox – Yeah, I wanted a reason for why he was so…mean. Everyone has a reason right? Thanks for the compliments!**

**Yami Nikki – Dominic y Shataro: Muy bein, gracias! Lol, glad you liked it Yami Nikki! A train? ROFL!!!!!**

**Amberliz - ^__^ Here's the dance chapter. Hope you like. **


	9. Epilouge

Jaid: Well, here it is. The last chapter. I'm glad you all enjoyed it; it was a lot of fun to write! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "This is it." Joey grinned and Serenity let loose a nervous giggle. 

            "You ready sis?" the boy asked. She nodded. 

            "I can't wait to see all of you for the first time." She said warmly. Tea, Yugi, Tristan, Mai, Joey, Mrs. Wheeler, Seto and Mokuba stood in the room. 

            'I can't wait to see what color her eyes are.' Seto thought absently. 

            "Are we ready?" the doctor asked, coming into the room followed by a nurse. 

            "Everyone keeps asking me that." Serenity said, with another nervous giggle. The doctor smiled as he and the nurse began to take off the bandages. The room was quiet and an eternity seemed to pass before the last layer was ready to come off. The doctor carefully wound it around his hand and Serenity opened her eyes and gasped. 

            "Joey! Mom!" she started crying. "Everything is so clear!" 

            "Shh." Mrs. Wheeler was crying too, hugging her daughter.       Joey's grin was huge. As soon as his mom got out of the way, the blonde dragged all of his friends over. 

            "This is Tea and Tristan." He said first. 

            "Hi." Tea smiled. Serenity grinned. Tristan waved. 

            "An' this is Yugi." Joey prodded the short boy forward. Yugi smiled shyly. 

            "Thank you." Serenity said soflty. "I – we owe you for this." 

            Seto raised an eyebrow. So Yugi had payed for it? He'd never wondered what the small teen had used the prize money for, but it sounded like something Yugi would do. 

            "Your welcome." Yugi said, not really knowing what else to say. 

            "And, and this is Mai." Joey told Serenity, taking the woman's hand and smiling fondly at her. 

            "Pleased to meet you." Mai said, smiling. 

            "Always wanted a sister." Serenity said jokingly. Mai chuckled. 

            "We'll see about that." She said wryly. 

            "Hi!" Mokuba said, waving to get the girl's attention. 

            "Hello, Mokuba." Serenity laughed, then slipped out of the bed and gave him a hug. She stood as Seto stepped forward. For a moment they just looked at each other; Serenity with tears of happiness shining in her eyes and her face more radiant than Seto had ever seen. 

            "You have lovely eyes." He said, in a voice that was choked with laughther and something else he couldn't quite discern. Serenity blushed. 

            "So do you." She said, barely able to keep her own laughter in control. Impulsively, she wrapped her arms around him. SEto was a little surprised, but then he relaxed and returned the hug. 

            "So," Serenity grinned as they pulled apart. "When do I get that date?" 

            "Date?" the others chorused. Serenity nodded happily and Seto couldn't help but smirk just a little. He looked down at her. 

            "As soon as you want to." He said softly. "And hopefully, it won't be the last."

            "No, I don't think it will be." Serenity told him. She was still held loosely in his arms and they were just looking at each other. Mrs. Wheeler quietly cleared her throat and left the room. The others filed out after her. 

            "They're gone." Serenity murmered. 

            "I know." 

            "So, you going to do it or not?" she demanded. Seto's cheeks warmed slightly (barely really) and he leaned down to kiss her. 

            The others were walking down the hall when Joey stopped and groaned. 

            "What?" Mai looked at him. 

            "Nothin'. Just Seto and Serenity together." 

            Mai chuckled and looped an arm around his waist. "Guess you'll just have to be nice to him." 

            "That's exactly why I was groaning." 

            Mai laughed and looked up at him. 

            "But I can handle it if you're here, I suppose." 

            "You suppose?" Mai demanded pulling away. Joey laughed and grabbed her waist, kissing her. 

            Tea and Yugi looked behind them and rolled eyes at each other. Mrs. Wheeler, Mokuba and Tristan were ahead. 

            "They really do love each other." Yugi murmered. Shyly, he took Tea's hand and squeezed it. 

            "Aishiteru." He whispered. 

            Tea smiled and her eyes became soft. "I love you too, Yugi." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``

            Isis entered the room, to find Shadi pacing. She frowned. 

            "What, what is it?" she asked urgently. His head snapped up. 

            "I have to go back to Egypt." He said. 

            "But…" she started, then looked at him and her eyes widened. "Has something happened?" 

            "I'm not sure, but…" Shadi shook his head. Something had gone wrong; he just wasn't sure what. There was a rent, a hole somewhere. That's what it felt like. He had to go. But he so badly wanted to stay. 

            He felt Isis walk up behind him and slip her slender hand into his. "You'll come back." She said softly. "Go and do what you need too." 

            Shadi turned. "I'm sorry." 

            Isis smiled. "We are guardians, aren't we? We both understand that sometimes, our duties have to come before our feelings." Her smile slipped a little and she hugged him tightly. 

            Shadi returned it. Niether spoke. They both understood all too well. Shadi just wished that he didn't have such a bad feeling about all of this. It seemed to be rubbing off on Isis as well. 

            They pulled apart. 

            "I don't know how long I will have to stay." Shadi started. Isis lifted her chin. 

            "I have to travel to Egypt on business at the end of May." She paused. "If you have come back before then, then we can travel to Egypt again together. If you have not," she swallowed. "I will see you then." 

            Shadi nodded. He held her hands, bent down and kissed her one last time. There was no need for more words. When they pulled apart, Shadi called for Ankh and Scales. Both spirits disappeared into their Items and Shadi used the Ankh to call up a transportation spell. When he was gone, Isis sank into a chair. A bittersweet smile came on her face, reflecting her feelings. To finally find love, only to have it taken away too soon. 

            She stood abruptly. She was being morbid. Surely it was nothing but a simple problem that would take Shadi a short time to fix and he would be back. For right now, she had her own work. Setting her shoulders, the Egyptian girl grabbed her cloak and headed for work. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Okay, before you all ply me with questions about ending it here, don't worry! This is not the end. As of right now, I am working on the sequel, "Sands of Time." It promises to be a very interesting piece of work and I hope you all will like it. But for now, final responses and thanks. **

**Black Mistress – lol, yum! Cookies!!! Yah, I've heard lots of rumors for Seto/Serenity. I'm thinking that they are probably true. I can't wait to see a little romance in the actual show! (Unlike the hints they drop around Tea/Yugi and Joey/Mai. -__-)**

**Iris – I know!!! I liked the way it ended. ^___^ I'm glad you figured out Anhai and Hworang! *dances happily***

**Amberliz**** – I know, isn't it sweet? Lol, thought to be truthful, I was gagging when I wrote it. Too much WAFF for me personally. X__X But I liked it better after I had proof-read it several times. Thank you for the roses. ^___^ ACK! AMBER! YOU HAVE TO HAVE SUGAR! How else would the muses, you, me, Han and Legolas have such crazy adventures? ^__~**

**SilverShadow** – Really?****** Thanks. You'll be happy to know that there is a Sequel coming out, maybe as soon as next week! (I sound like a commercial….). ^__^ **

**Yami**** Nikki – ROFL!! You're so funny! I hope you enjoy the sequel…when it comes out. **

**Dr. Vorlon – Glad you liked! I'm going to review "Companion of Clow" as soon as possible, I promise!!!**

**Indigo – I know, isn't it? ^__^ I hope you'll read the sequel, because Ankh and Scales are going to have a pretty big hero part in it, I think. AH! *hides behind Shadi* Don't let him hit me! I am allergic to physical pain!!!**

**Serena – Seto as Mr. Darcy…THAT COULD SO WORK!!!! Lol, sorry, I've been looking for an anime to make into a Jane Austen parody. You just inspired me. I'm so glad you have enjoyed this story and don't forget to check out the sequel! (I've typed this so many times I'm starting to get sick of myself…oh well, we all need to have our moments of self promotion, right? Lol) Hee, hee, I think Yugi's the most adorable guy on the show. ^__^ Though Tristan and Ryou come for a close second. **

**Okay guys, thanks for all the encouragement, all the enthusiasm and all the laughs. You are the greatest reviewers in the world and it's thanks to you that I was so inspired during this story. **

**Since you were all so nice, I'm giving you a little snippet from "Sands of Time". **

            "Freedom!" Tara sighed happily. "I'm sooo glad school is out." 

            "Aren't we all?" Tea asked. 

            "I know I am!" Katya said, then made a face. "I barely made it through this year." 

            "Girls, we are gonna have nothing but fun for the next three months." Tara said, looping arms with Rei and Katya, who looped her arm through Tea's. 

**********

            Ryou nodded. "I-uh- my father that is, he wants me to go out to Egypt for the summer." 

            "Really?" Rei asked. 

            Ryou nodded. "Would you like to come?" he asked shyly. Rei grinned. 

            "Sure! That'd be fun!" 

*********

            "Shadi!" she cried. The man's eyes flickered and his mouth moved as if to speak. But she could not hear the words that came from his mouth. His image faded completely away and another vision presented itself to her mind's eyes. 

            The blood was back and the smell wafted in the air. Isis felt sick as she looked down. Blood pooled around her feet and to her horror on her hands. Looking up, she saw Yugi, lying in a pool of blood, his violet eyes vacant and staring. 

            Then as quickly as it had come, the vision ended and she was in her living room. A shuddering sob shook her, as she curled up on the floor.

**************

**Eh…don't kill me! The first chapter, "****Egypt****, here we come!" will be out by next week. I promise. ^__^ **


End file.
